RECOVERY OF OUTSTANDING TRAVEL ADVANCES - 8116.1

(Revised: 11/2024)

 

Agencies/Departments shall comply with Government Code section 19838 and SAM Section 8293.2 regarding notification and collection of employee overpayments.

Agencies/Departments will follow the travel advance collection procedures below:

• Monthly, agencies/departments will notify employees who were issued a travel advance but have not submitted a Travel Expense Claim (TEC) to substantiate the travel expenses and/or have not returned any excess travel advance amount.

• If an employee does not submit a TEC to substantiate the travel expenses within 15 calendar days of the notification date, agencies/departments must deduct the total amount of outstanding advances from the employee’s next regular payroll warrant(s).

• If an employee submits a TEC within 15 calendar days of the notification date but does not return the excess travel advance amount within the same 15 calendar days, agencies/departments must deduct the excess travel advance amount from the employee’s next regular payroll warrant(s).

• If an employee does not return the travel advance for a canceled or indefinitely postponed trip immediately, agencies/departments must deduct the outstanding advance from the employee’s next regular payroll warrant(s).

• If the amount of the revolving fund check paid to the employee exceeds the reimbursement from the State Controller’s Office (SCO) (i.e., due to a claim correction by the SCO), the agency/department will notify the employee to reimburse the difference. The employee must return the amount owed to the revolving fund no later than 15 calendar days of the notification date. If the employee does not clear the outstanding amount, agencies/departments must deduct it from the employee’s next regular payroll warrant(s).

• For employees with payroll direct deposit, the agency/department must inform the employee in the notification that if the outstanding travel advance amount is not returned within 15 calendar days of the notification, the direct deposit will be canceled, and the agency/department will deduct it from the employee’s next regular payroll warrant(s). To cancel the payroll direct deposit, the agency/department accounting or personnel office must send a notification to the SCO by the 15th of the month.

• Payroll deductions to recover the travel advance due to non-compliance shall not exceed 25 percent of the employee’s net (i.e., gross minus mandatory deductions) monthly or semi-monthly salary.

Below is an example of the timeline for recovery of a travel advance:

Date	Travel Advance Recovery Activities
03/02/20XX	Travel advance is issued to the employee.
03/10/20XX	Travel date of the employee.
03/17/20XX	End date of the employee travel.
03/27/20XX	The deadline for the employee to submit a TEC and/or return excess travel advance.

 

Below is an example of actions for non-compliance:

Date	Travel Advance Recovery Activities
03/27/20XX	The employee does not submit a TEC, nor return the travel advance.
04/01/20XX	The agency/department sends the employee a notification to submit a TEC, and/or return the excess travel advance by 04/15/20XX. (The 1st of the month is the agency/department’s established mail out date for the monthly notification.)
04/16/20XX	The employee does not submit a TEC nor return the travel advance. (This is 15 calendar days from the notification date.) The agency/department will deduct the outstanding advance amount not to exceed 25 percent of the employee’s net (i.e., gross minus mandatory deductions) monthly or semi-monthly salary from the employee’s next regular payroll warrant(s).