A recent decision by the Second Court of Appeal in California may mean all employers whose employees need to use personal mobile devices for work-related reasons will be responsible for "a reasonable percentage" of the employees' cell phone bills.
In the case, employees of Schwan's Home Service, an online grocery delivery service, sued their employer for reimbursement for work-related calls made on their personal cell phones. Overturning a lower court's decision, the appellate court ruled employers must reimburse employees when personal cell phones are used at work, even if the employee has an unlimited plan or someone else, such as family member, already pays the bill.
The ruling could have significant implications for hospitals, as 85 percent of hospitals and health systems currently have bring-your-own-device policies in place for physicians and staff. The decision may make employers rethink BYOD policies, Hyoun Park, principal consultant at DataHive Consulting, told CIO magazine. "I think this is going to be a deal killer for a lot of companies, especially those that have a significant California employee base," he said. "This is the first real ruling that has been binding in the BYOD space."
Additionally, Mr. Park said the ruling lays the groundwork for compelling employers to reimburse for work-related data usage and apps as well, which would add to hospitals' expenses as a majority of physicians use apps at work.
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