DATE ISSUED: / PAGE 2 OF 15
I. PURPOSE
This policy establishes the terms and conditions under which «COMPANY» will provide an eligible employee with a company vehicle for business and personal use. It also establishes and maintains a system for ensuring proper vehicle maintenance, safe driving practices, and appropriate collision/incident procedures.
II. SCOPE
This policy applies to all «COMPANY» employees who drive company vehicles.
III. RESPONSIBILITY
A. Fleet Operations
Fleet Operations is responsible for formulating, implementing, and maintaining this policy as well as selecting and managing our designated suppliers. A list of these suppliers can be found in Appendix A.
B. Authorized Drivers/Spouses/Domestic Partners
Authorized Drivers and spouses/domestic partners are responsible for reading, understanding, and complying with all company vehicle policies; and maintaining a valid driver’s license issued by the state in which he/she resides and for all fees associated it.
The Appendix B Acknowledgement Form must be completed and returned to Fleet Operations.
IV. POLICY
A. General
«COMPANY» will provide a company vehicle to field personnel who regularly require a vehicle in order to perform their job duties. Such job duties include sales, training, clinical research, medical liaison, and others as decided by «COMPANY» management.
The company has the sole right to determine who is eligible for a company vehicle. Eligibility ends when an employee:
§ Leaves «COMPANY»’s employ, or
§ Transfers to a position that is not eligible for a company vehicle.
§ Loses his/her privilege to operate a company vehicle for reasons stated elsewhere in this policy.
Vehicles will be selected based on safety, economy, fuel efficiency, a positive company image and job requirements. Fleet Operations will solicit input from departments requiring company vehicles when deciding make, model, and standard equipment for each level of vehicle.
Fleet Operations will contract for all vehicle and driver support services including maintenance, driver training, collision/incident management, and vehicle disposal.
Authorized drivers are NOT authorized to make any offer or commitment on behalf of the company to any automobile dealer.
The company may revoke an employee’s privilege to drive a company vehicle under the following circumstances:
§ Abuse, misuse, or neglect of vehicle.
§ Excessive moving violations.
§ Driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
§ Having a suspended or revoked driver’s license.
§ Involvement in frequent preventable collision/incidents.
The decision to revoke a driver’s company vehicle privileges will be made by the Fleet Manager after consultation with management.
B. Authorized Drivers
Employees who are assigned a company vehicle are considered the authorized drivers. The legal spouse or domestic partner of an authorized driver may also drive the company vehicle. Domestic partners are required to have an affidavit on file with Fleet Operations. This affidavit may be found on the Fleet Operations intranet site within Human Resources. Use of the vehicle by other employees is restricted to business purposes only.
The company vehicle may not be driven by:
§ Relatives other than spouse or domestic partner.
§ Business associates not employed by «COMPANY»
§ Friends and acquaintances.
These people, however, may be passengers in the vehicle.
The employee will be held responsible for the actions of any unauthorized drivers who operate the company vehicle.
Authorized drivers/spouses/domestic partners may use the vehicle for personal use (including vacations); however all charges for storage, parking, washing, and road tolls during personal use are to be paid for by the employee. Gas should still be charged to the company gas card as the IRS personal use calculation includes an amount for gas.
Personal usage of a company vehicle is considered to be a taxable benefit by the Internal Revenue Service. To reduce this tax liability to both the company and the employee, a personal use charge will be deducted each pay period, and the employee will keep a log of all personal mileage driven as instructed by Fleet Operations or our Leasing Company. This mileage report will be used to calculate the taxable benefit for each driver, and the value will be added to W-2 earnings less the personal usage amount the driver has already paid the company at the end of each year. Drivers who do not report personal mileage will have 50% of all mileage charged as personal use. The current personal use charge can be found on the Fleet Operations Intranet site.
Authorized Drivers should:
§ Immediately report to his/her supervisor and Fleet operations if his/her driver’s license or that of a spouse or domestic partner is suspended or revoked for any reason.
§ Know and obey all applicable motor vehicle laws.
§ Pay for all violations received including court costs and penalties incurred.
§ Pay for all garage and storage expenses for company vehicle, except while on company business.
§ Maintain courteous and professional behavior to the motoring public at all times.
§ Keep vehicle clean, maintained, and in safe operating condition at all times.
§ Submit a change of address notice to HR within 48 hours of the change date.
§ Submit any reports required by the company or by law.
§ Remove overnight from the vehicle any samples/product/equipment/other company or personal items which could be adversely affected by excessive heat or cold or might be targets of theft.
Authorized Driver should not:
§ Drive the company vehicle or allow spouse/domestic partner to drive vehicle with a suspended/revoked/expired driver’s license.
§ Leave any company equipment or personal items in their vehicle when it is not occupied.
§ Transport hitchhikers or strangers.
§ Add trailer hitches to vehicles; tow or push a vehicle, trailer, or any other device.
§ Use the company vehicle to conduct any other business than company authorized business.
§ Affix decals or stickers to vehicles except where needed for parking, etc., or if issued by the company.
§ Accept any form of compensation for carrying passengers or material.
§ Have personalized license plates.
C. Vehicle Selection and Ordering
Company vehicles will be replaced based on months in service and/or mileage guidelines set by Fleet Operations. The current replacement time/mileage is 36 months or 70,000 miles, whichever comes first; however, the company may decide to replace any company vehicle before or after this replacement criteria based on specific conditions and/or factors relative to the operation or resale value of the vehicle..
In order to take advantage of the best used vehicle market for our turned in vehicles, new vehicle orders are placed twice each year—once in January/February and again in July/August. Prior to these time periods, our leasing company will send Fleet Operations a list of all vehicles and their months in service and current mileage. Fleet Operations will decide who should order in that time period and have the leasing company send out ordering instructions.
Fleet Operations will put together semi-annual vehicle selector lists which are approved by line management. Employees shall select a vehicle from the selector list provided. Vehicles will be ordered with options and color choices specified by employee. All vehicles will be factory ordered through our leasing company. Any exceptions must be approved by the Fleet Manager. If factory ordering is delayed and the employee does not have access to a vehicle, Fleet Operations will provide a temporary rental or currently vacant fleet vehicle for the interim period.
At his/her own expense, the employee may order additional equipment for the new vehicle as long as the added equipment doesn’t alter the original vehicle specifications. The entire cost of such options, including sales tax if required, must be paid in full before the vehicle is ordered. Employee-paid options become the property of the company since they are embodied in the structure of the vehicle and are not reimbursable and cannot be removed. After-market items are not permitted unless authorized by Fleet Operations.
New/transferred/promoted employees will be assigned an existing vehicle if one is available at the time of hire/transfer/promotion.
If a vehicle is stolen or pronounced a total loss as a result of vandalism, fire, or collision/incident, a replacement vehicle will be obtained. This vehicle may be an existing vacant vehicle or a new order based on availability.
D. Delivery and Acceptance
Employee should inspect the vehicle prior to taking delivery and signing any paperwork. Employee should verify that:
§ Model, colors, equipment, and options match the delivery authorization and what employee ordered.
§ Equipment operates properly.
§ Interior and exterior are clean and undamaged.
§ The vehicle is titled and registered.
§ The dealer has completed preparing the vehicle for delivery.
Employee may accept delivery if minor discrepancies exist, providing all discrepancies are stated on the delivery receipt, and the dealer has made arrangements for corrections.
Employee should not accept the vehicle or sign the delivery receipt if major discrepancies exist. In this case, the employee should immediately contact the leasing company or Fleet Operations for further instructions.
E. Vehicle Exchanges
Vehicle exchanges between authorized drivers are not permitted without prior approval from Fleet Operations.
F. Vehicle Disposal
Fleet Operations will be responsible for setting pricing parameters on vehicle sales to employees.
An authorized driver may purchase his/her leased vehicle under the following circumstances, provided the vehicle has been in service for at least 12 months:
§ At the time of replacement.
§ Upon reassignment from the field to the home office or to a position that does not qualify for a company vehicle.
§ Retirement from the company.
§ Permanently disabling injury while an active employee.
§ To the spouse of an authorized driver who dies.
Upon receiving an order for a replacement vehicle, the leasing company will provide the authorized driver with a quote and sale package. The employee will have 10 (ten) days to accept or reject the offer. Acceptable purchasers are the driver or any member of his/her family. If accepted, all purchase arrangements will be handled between the buyer and the leasing company.
Purchases because of circumstances other than those listed above will be arranged through Fleet Operations.
If the driver or another family member does not wish to purchase the vehicle, it will be posted for sale to any other active employee through our Used Vehicle Purchase Program run by our leasing company. Available vehicles may be viewed through a link on the Fleet Operations intranet site.
All fleet vehicles will be sold “as is, where is” at the price quoted by the leasing company or Fleet Operations. Pricing will be based on the wholesale value of the vehicle.
All vehicle repairs will be monitored by Fleet Operations; and within three (3) months of a vehicle being turned in, only those that are considered necessary for the vehicle’s safe operation will be approved.
All sales tax, title, registration, and leasing company administrative fees are the responsibility of the buyer of the vehicle and must be submitted in full before the title and bill of sale will be released to the buyer. If the buyer is not the authorized driver, the vehicle may not be driven until the buyer has transferred ownership and obtained personal insurance coverage.
If the vehicle is not purchased as outlined above, Fleet Operations will handle disposal.
G. Employee Relocation/Job Change
If a relocating employee loses the use of a company-provided vehicle as a result of transferring from a field-based position to a home office-based position, the Company will provide a Loss of Auto benefit of $______for a sales rep/manager level auto and $______for a director level auto, after the employee has turned in his/her vehicle. This payment will be considered taxable income to the employee, subject to withholding taxes, for which there will be no gross up. Further instructions will be provided in the employee’s job offer letter and relocation instructions.
H. Employee Termination
If an Employee resigns or is terminated by the Company, his/her vehicle will either be picked up by our leasing company for disposal or by our transport company for storage. The only items left in the company vehicle should be the registration, insurance ID, maintenance information and fuel card. No other company property is to be left in the vehicle as it will either be sold or assigned to another employee.
Terminated employee will also be sent a final mileage personal use form to be completed for IRS purposes.
I. Vehicle Care
The company will pay all reasonable costs associated with operating and maintaining company vehicles in accordance with this policy.
Employees are responsible for the mechanical condition and interior/exterior appearance of their assigned vehicle.
Fleet Operations may require periodic condition reports of company vehicle.
J. Warranty, Maintenance, and Vehicle Operation
Employees assigned to a fleet vehicle are responsible for reading and understanding what is covered under the vehicle’s warranty. Suspected mechanical problems should be replaced/repaired prior to the warranty expiration date.
Employees are expected to exercise the same level of care and expense for company vehicles as they would for their own vehicles. Employees should follow the vehicle manufacturers’ or leasing company’s maintenance instructions to enable them to keep accurate service records of vehicles. Employee performance of maintenance and repair procedures is not allowed. Some general maintenance guidelines are included in Appendix C.
If an employee’s failure to follow the recommended maintenance schedule results in the loss of warranty protection, Employee will be held responsible for the cost of needed repairs, and no reimbursements will be made by the company. An example of this is lack of oil changes causing an engine to seize.
Maintenance or repairs of a company vehicle should be arranged so that it is not necessary for an employee to require substitute transportation. However, when necessary, employee should acquire a rental vehicle through the leasing company or other supplier designated by Fleet Operations.
K. Leasing Company Maintenance Control Procedures
§ Call Leasing Company.
§ Identify yourself as an employee of «COMPANY» and provide your vehicle number.
§ Describe your problem to the Maintenance Specialist. He/she will recommend the proper service facility to use.