Q: Can a former employer force me to pay to have my personal usb drive I was authorized to use "professionally" erased?
About 5 months ago I was given authorization from my company HR manager to update the operating system on my company computer which required the use of a personal usb drive. Before I had the opportunity to put the company files back on my computer and delete the data the owner confiscated my drive. I was recently let go due to the COVID-19 situation and when I asked about my drive the owner said that he will get a price from his IT person to format the drive and I can have it back after I pay for it. This is a task any 8 year old with Google can do so does my former boss have this right?
A:
If you were required to use the drive, then the cost must be borne by the employer. The employer may not require an employee to pay any expense incurred in furtherance of a job duty. This issue, of course, is whether this is worth fighting over. USB thumbdrives are cheap. Attorney fees are not.
Good luck to you.
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