Responsibility for Employer Equipment

zlp · August 2004

Is anyone willing to share a receipt/acknowledgement form that employees are reuired to sign when issued employer equipment, such as tools? Specifically, I would like for the form to alert the employee that he/she is responsible for replacement costs if the equipment is lost/stolen/broken.

hhaynal · August 2004

Let me tell you what we have in place first and then I'll try and answer your question from there. First, all of our production workers, including maintainance, electricians, etc. provide their own tools for which they are given a tool allowance. All others tools and equipment such as scissor-lifts etc. are signed out for work on facility premises. If the equipment breaks or is damaged, it is repaired or replaced by the company.

For exempt employees, we have a written policy that states the employee is responsible for repair or replacement of any equipment that is damaged, lost, stolen while not being used for company business. We had such an incident just recently where our marketing director took company equipment, a digital camera, on vacation and it was stolen out of her rental vehicle. Employee was responsible for replacement of the camera. Such is the case with laptops, phones, etc. But if the company equipment is damaged, lost or stolen, while on company business, then the company will repair or replace the equipment.

Now having said all this, to answer your situation, I think it would depend if you have any written policy in place. Absent that, are tools being lost and or damaged while doing work for the company? Or are employees permitted to take company property off premises? My thoughts would be if the equipment is company-issued, if one does not already exist, draw up a policy that all company-issued tools must remain on company premises and that taking tools home may be subject to your company theft policy. Then, if the tool is damaged while used in work for the company, the company should be responsible for any repair and/or replacement.

zlp · August 2004

Thanks for your reply. We are an electric and gas utility. Our employees have tools assigned to them and these tools are used in the field. Typical scenarios may include an employee leaving the tools in an unlocked vehicle and the tools being stolen, or an employee using the tool improperly (for business purposes) and damaging or breaking it. Some electronic hand-held meter reading devices are worth upwards of $1000, so we are looking for ways to maintain properly functioning equipment and hold employees accountable for their treatment and care of the equipment.

Responsibility for Employer Equipment

Comments