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APA 2307 of 24APB 2019-044TRAVEL AND EMPLOYEE EXPENSEREIMBURSEMENT11-1-2019Contract EmployeeTravelAll contract employees (including employees of contractors) arerequired to follow the: State of Michigan Standardized Travel Regulations. State of Michigan Administrative Guide to State Government. DTMB Schedule of Travel Rates. MDHHS Travel and Employee Expense ReimbursementPolicy. IRS Regulations. State of Michigan Financial Management GuideHowever, contract employees whose contract includes travelexpenses cannot use the state’s contracted travel agent to bookairfare and hotels as their travel costs must be included in thecontract.Custodial CareAn employee may request for reimbursement the expensesincurred by a person in their custodial care as part of their officialresponsibilities. In this instance, the state rates and policies apply.The name(s) and case/patient number(s) of the person(s) in theircustodial care must be listed on the travel reimbursement requestalong with the expenses incurred. Itemized receipts are required.For custodial care travel, the total travel expenditure reimbursementfor the employee and the person(s) in their care cannot exceed thetotal maximum rates per the DTMB Schedule of Travel Rates.Employee meals may be reimbursed in their workstation when alsopurchasing a meal for the custodial care person(s) during the mealtimes listed in the Standardized Travel Regulations.DocumentationRequiredEmployees are responsible to retain all receipts and documentationfor up to 7 years following the travel for IRS purposes. Alldocumentation and receipts for reimbursements selected for auditmust be attached to the email requesting documentation andADMINISTRATIVE POLICY FINANCIALOPERATIONSSTATE OF MICHIGANDEPARTMENT OF HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES

APA 2308 of 24APB 2019-044TRAVEL AND EMPLOYEE EXPENSEREIMBURSEMENT11-1-2019forwarded via email or fax to the MDHHS financial operations,Bureau of Finance and Accounting for the audit process. Due to thetype of paper used for many receipts which result in the ink fadingover time, travelers are advised to make copies of all receipts.MDHHS Financial Operations Bureau of Finance and Accounting isnot responsible for lost or illegible receipts.MDHHS Travel email address: MDHHSTravel@michigan.govMDHHS Financial Operations Fax: 517-335-6457.All receipts received by MDHHS financial operations, if not attachedin SIGMA Employee Self-Service, will be scanned for recordretention purposes which will meet the retention requirement foraudit and IRS purposes.The following documentation, when applicable, is required for auditpurposes to be forwarded to MDHHS financial operations uponrequest. Items requiring documentation that are not attached willnot be reimbursed. Receipts for lodging (must be itemized), and parking (chargecard receipts are not acceptable). Conference/Meeting agenda. Cost analysis/comparison. Meal receipts (not required for reimbursement but are requiredupon request during post-audit). Request and denial from the state vehicle pool(s). Explanations if needed to justify reimbursement request if notincluded on the travel reimbursement request notepads.MDHHS financial operations will not audit a reimbursement until thedocumentation and receipts have been received and reviewed.Failure to provide these receipts and other documentation uponrequest will result in the reimbursement being disallowed and dueback to the state if previously paid.ADMINISTRATIVE POLICY FINANCIALOPERATIONSSTATE OF MICHIGANDEPARTMENT OF HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES

APA 2309 of 24APB 2019-044TRAVEL AND EMPLOYEE EXPENSEREIMBURSEMENT11-1-2019Essential andEfficient TravelAll reimbursement of travel expenses supported by fundsadministered by the Michigan Department of Health and HumanServices shall be limited to that required for the essential andefficient conduct of state business according to the schedule oftravel rates effective for each fiscal year. Travel shall beaccomplished in a way the department has determined to be themost economical and effectively supports the purposes andobjectives of the department and the state.The employee is required, as the traveling representative ofMDHHS, to use good judgment and common sense and to exerciseprudent care in the exercise of responsibilities involving travel ondepartmental business.ExceptionsExceptions to this policy, identified during the accounting pre-auditprocess, are evaluated on an individual basis and will requireMDHHS financial operations approval before reimbursement isconsidered.FinancialEnhancementEmployees and contractual employees may seek reimbursement inaccordance with applicable regulations to avoid the loss of personalfunds in the conduct of state business; but they may not seekfinancial enhancement or benefit thereby.Group MeetingsSee APA 231 for complete information regarding Group Meetings.Group meal rates are reimbursable only under the followingconditions: Attendees are required to eat together as a condition ofconference/meeting/training attendance. An itemized receipt must be provided. An approved agenda must be attached to the travelreimbursement request.ADMINISTRATIVE POLICY FINANCIALOPERATIONSSTATE OF MICHIGANDEPARTMENT OF HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES

APA 23010 of 24 TRAVEL AND EMPLOYEE EXPENSEREIMBURSEMENTAPB 2019-04411-1-2019The meeting lasts a minimum of 5 hours and occurs during themeal times as listed in the state standardized travelregulations.When the meal is not provided by a catering service, employeesare required to claim reimbursement for their own meals and mustprovide an itemized receipt. An employee cannot claim meals forother employees.Home AddressA home address is used to determine applicable reimbursementrates as outlined under Mileage in this item. It is the individual’sofficial place and county of residence as indicated by one of thefollowing: Driver's license.Voter registration.Personnel records.A home address cannot be listed as a post office box or place ofpublic accommodation. A residence address different from a homeaddress may be used if: It is the employee’s customary abode during the work week.The employee regularly departs from and returns to theresidence from a workstation or field assignment.HotelsReimbursement is restricted to those in the schedule of travel rates.Maximum rates are listed in this schedule. Specialtyaccommodations are the employee’s responsibility. Reimbursementis actual cost with an original receipt up to the state maximum rate.Hotel reservations at or below the approved rate should be madeby the traveler as the department incurs a charge from the state’scontract travel agency for each reservation made. A listing of theDTMB preferred hotels with the negotiated rate and blackout datecan be found at the DTMB web site and at the MDHHS intranettravel information website.Hotel reservations over the approved rate must be made throughthe state’s contracted travel agency or over the internet atwww.SOMtravel.com. Information on the state’s contracted travelagency can be found at the MDHHS travel intranet page. Thestate’s contracted travel agency confirmation email must beADMINISTRATIVE POLICY FINANCIALOPERATIONSSTATE OF MICHIGANDEPARTMENT OF HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES

APA 23011 of 24TRAVEL AND EMPLOYEE EXPENSEREIMBURSEMENTAPB 2019-04411-1-2019included on the travel reimbursement request. Reimbursement isactual cost with a receipt and a copy of your confirmation attachedto the reimbursement request. The only exception to this is whenan individual stays at a conference hotel and the conferenceinformation is attached. Failure to go through the state’s contractedtravel agency will result in a maximum reimbursement at the stateapproved rate.Requests for reservations should not be made for specific hotelsbased solely on the preference of the employee. Any additionalcosts over the state rate incurred due to these requests are theresponsibility of the employee and will not be reimbursed.Taxes are reimbursable in addition to lodging expense and shouldbe included in the lodging total with an actual receipt.In the event where a hotel stay is extended for personal use(weekend or beginning of annual leave), the lodging and mealreimbursement period will end at the close of business/end ofconference on the last day of business travel.An internet access fee will be reimbursed during the hotel staywhen the fee is listed on the hotel receipt. Supervisory approval ofthe travel reimbursement request also includes the approval for theinternet fee being required for official business.Reimbursement will not be made for lodging at the homes or otherlocations owned by relatives and/or friends.Hotel Direct BillingHotel direct billing is only allowed on a case-by-case basis andmust be pre-approved by MDHHS financial operations. When hoteldirect billing is not pre-approved, employees must pay for their ownlodging and submit a reimbursement request in SIGMA EmployeeSelf-Service.IncidentalsPer the IRS, the term incidental expenses means fees and tipsgiven to porters, baggage carriers and hotel staff. An explanationfor the incidental expense must be listed on the reimbursementrequest to be reimbursed for incidental expenses.ADMINISTRATIVE POLICY FINANCIALOPERATIONSSTATE OF MICHIGANDEPARTMENT OF HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES

APA 23012 of 24TRAVEL AND EMPLOYEE EXPENSEREIMBURSEMENTAPB 2019-04411-1-2019InsuranceSee State Administrative Guide section 0820.01, and theStandardized Travel Regulations.Job InterviewsThe department does not reimburse employees for travel expensesfor job interviews.Travel expenses for hard-to-fill departmental jobs may beauthorized. Written prior approval must be obtained by agreementbetween the hiring deputy director and MDHHS human resourcesfor both in-state and out-of-state travel.MealReimbursementMeal reimbursement requires an itemized, legible, and unalteredreceipt and is limited to the maximum amount listed in the scheduleof travel rates. Receipts cannot be either a calculator tape or handwritten without sufficient justification on the travel reimbursementrequest as to why a proper receipt was not provided to theemployee. If indicated in the employee's union contract that mealreceipts are not required, they may be retained by the employeebut must be submitted to MDHHS Bureau of Finance upon requestfor audit purposes. Failure to provide the requested meal receipt(s)will result in the meal reimbursement being disallowed.Meals must be purchased on the day of and during the times oftravel for which the employee seeks reimbursement and must beonly for items consumed by the employee during the travel period.Only meal items intended for consumption during the travel periodare reimbursable. Meal reimbursement requests cannot include thepurchase of food intended for someone other than the employee orfor meal outside of the travel period.When qualifying for individual meals, an employee cannot havemultiple receipts unless purchased within 1 hour of each other.When qualifying for all day meals based on travel times, anemployee can choose how to distribute the cost throughout the dayand claim up to the full amount by selecting all day meals.Meals within an employee’s home city and county or their OWS arenot reimbursable unless they are authorized by sponsors ofADMINISTRATIVE POLICY FINANCIALOPERATIONSSTATE OF MICHIGANDEPARTMENT OF HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES

APA 23013 of 24APB 2019-044TRAVEL AND EMPLOYEE EXPENSEREIMBURSEMENT11-1-2019conferences or official meetings; see Group Meetings andDefinitions in this item.Employees attending pre-arranged meetings or conferences at theirhome or official workstation can be reimbursed for their meals if themeeting or conference requires all attendees to eat together at themeeting site. The meeting must last a minimum of 5 hours andoccur during the meal times as listed in the state standardizedtravel regulations. An itemized receipt and a copy of the agenda arerequired for reimbursement. An employee cannot claim meals forother employees.No meal reimbursement will be issued for attendance at impromptuor informal meetings or conferences; see APA 231, GroupMeetings.Meal tips are allowed only with sit-down meals and must beindicated on the receipt. Tips on take-out or at fast food restaurantsare not reimbursable. Meal tips (maximum 20 percent) are includedwith the meal price in the maximum reimbursable amount.Reimbursement for alcoholic beverages is not permitted.MileageReimbursable business mileage consists of business miles incurredwith a personal vehicle while in travel status. Mileage between anemployee’s home and their OWS is personal commuting mileageand is not reimbursable; see Definitions in this item. Mileage drivento an employee’s home for lunch is considered personal and is notreimbursable.Employees assigned to the Lansing Workstation – Downtowncomplex will not be reimbursed for mileage and/or parking withinthe downtown complex.Mileage between an employee’s home and a second office may bereimbursable but taxable and is reviewed on a case-by-case basis.State Vehicle Usage:See the MDHHS Vehicle Policies and the Vehicle and TravelServices websites for state vehicle usage policies and procedures.ADMINISTRATIVE POLICY FINANCIALOPERATIONSSTATE OF MICHIGANDEPARTMENT OF HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES

APA 23014 of 24TRAVEL AND EMPLOYEE EXPENSEREIMBURSEMENTAPB 2019-04411-1-2019Carpooling:Carpooling is encouraged at all times as a method of efficienttravel. If carpooling, the employee must list the driver and thepeople in the vehicle as well as attach the DTMB Motor Pool denial,if applicable.Personal Vehicle Usage:Mileage (both standard and premium rates) will be paid inaccordance with the Standardized Travel Regulations.To comply with the DTMB Administrative Guide to StateGovernment, Section 0410.01, MDHHS will accept the supervisor’sapproval as prior approval to use a personal vehicle.Usage of a personal vehicle when a state vehicle is assigned to theemployee is allowed only when the state vehicle is not available (forexample, the car is in for maintenance or is being used by anotheremployee) or it is determined to be the most cost-effective way oftravel for a particular trip. An explanation must be included on thetravel reimbursement request and be approved by the employee’ssupervisor. The permanently-assigned state vehicle must still bemeeting the minimum mileage requirements and be available forother MDHHS employees to use.Employees who refuse permanent assignment of a state vehicle orelect to turn in a currently assigned permanent state vehicle willonly be reimbursed at the standard mileage rate.Premium Mileage:Drivers are eligible to receive premium mileage reimbursementwhen using a privately-owned vehicle for official state business ifeither: The driver has not refused the use of an available state motorvehicle. A state-provided motor vehicle is not available within theMDHHS workstation and within the DTMB motor pool. Thismust be noted on the travel reimbursement request and thewritten request and denial from the DTMB motor pool for thatdate(s) must be attached to be reimbursed for premiummileage. The written denial must be written to the personclaiming reimbursement. Using a co-worker’s denial or a denialfor a different date is not acceptable.ADMINISTRATIVE POLICY FINANCIALOPERATIONSSTATE OF MICHIGANDEPARTMENT OF HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES

APA 23015 of 24TRAVEL AND EMPLOYEE EXPENSEREIMBURSEMENTAPB 2019-04411-1-2019Charges for gasoline, lubrication, repairs, antifreeze, towage, andother expenditures will not be allowed as reimbursable items whenprivately owned vehicles are used.Usage of a personal motorcycle for state business is not allowed byMDHHS.Commuting Mileage:No mileage reimbursement will be allowed for travel between anemployee’s home address/residence and employee’s officialworkstation, including weekends, and/or return to the office afterhours.Mileage driven to a commuter lot, common meeting point, etc., forcarpooling purposes, can be considered commuting mileage andmay not be reimbursed. This is reviewed on a case-by-case basis.Mileage between an employee’s home and a second office may bereimbursable, but taxable for IRS purposes, and is reviewed on acase-by-case basis.Field Assignment Mileage:The point-to-point mileage allowable for each field assignment mustbe the lesser of: Mileage from the employee’s home (or residence) to the fieldassignment site and return to home. Standard point-to-point mileage from the employee’s officialworkstation to the field assignment site and return to the workstation.Point-to-Point Mileage:As required in the Stadardized Travel Regulations, the point-topoint mileage claimed must be in agreement with the current Stateof Michigan highway map, or the common miles for the point topoint cities as listed in SIGMA Employee Self-Service. Departurecities, destination cities, and return cities must be included on thereimbursement request.If a freeway route is faster but longer than a direct route, the longerdistance will be allowed to save time. This exception should benoted on the reimbursement request and a supervisor should benotified, in advance if possible.ADMINISTRATIVE POLICY FINANCIALOPERATIONSSTATE OF MICHIGANDEPARTMENT OF HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES

APA 23016 of 24APB 2019-044TRAVEL AND EMPLOYEE EXPENSEREIMBURSEMENT11-1-2019Vicinity Mileage:Vicinity mileage is defined as vicinity mileage necessary for theconduct of official business in excess of the point-to-point mileageand must be shown on the reimbursement request separately frompoint-to-point mileage along with an explanation on thereimbursement request.Persistent claims of vicinity mileage of any amount may bequestioned and verification required. Employees should keep anaccount of all vicinity mileage to provide documentation if requestedto do so.Move/Transfer toAnotherWorkstationExpenditures incurred as a result of a move/transfer to anotherworkstation must have prior written approval from human resourcesand be attached to the travel reimbursement request beforereimbursement is considered.Official WorkStationThe official work station (OWS) is the city and surrounding theemployee’s work address (including home office locations) asdesignated by HRM location code or as otherwise indicated onpage one of this policy.Out-Of-State TravelWhen traveling on out-of-state on official business, a MDHHS5811, Out-of-State Travel Requisition, must be completed and fullyapproved by the requester's administration deputy director prior tomaking any travel arrangements.The approved MDHHS-5811 must be attached to thereimbursement request in SIGMA.Due to SIGMA travel advance processes, out-of-state travel with atravel advance request must still be entered and fully approvedthrough the Travel Authorization process in SIGMA Employee SelfService prior to making any travel arrangements. When the out-ofstate travel approval process is completed through SIGMA, theMDHHS-5811 does not need to be completed and attached.ADMINISTRATIVE POLICY FINANCIALOPERATIONSSTATE OF MICHIGANDEPARTMENT OF HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES

APA 23017 of 24TRAVEL AND EMPLOYEE EXPENSEREIMBURSEMENTAPB 2019-04411-1-2019Emergency out of state travel related to youth placement i

All MDHHS travel reimbursements will be pre-audited before reimbursement is processed ensuring compliance to: Standardized travel regulations. MDHHS travel and employee expense reimbursement policy. State of Michigan Administrative Guide to State Government. IRS Regulations. State of Michigan Financial Management Guide