Per Diem & Alcohol Policies
Erika A. Hargadine
(03 Dec 2012 14:38 EST)
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Re: Per Diem & Alcohol Policies
Ericka Norton
(03 Dec 2012 14:59 EST)
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Re: Per Diem & Alcohol Policies Lawrence Waxler (03 Dec 2012 15:15 EST)
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Re: Per Diem & Alcohol Policies Lawrence Waxler 03 Dec 2012 15:15 EST
We have separate policies for 1) faculty/staff/consultant travel which firmly adheres to Federal and State requirements for all, regardless of funding source, and 2) recruitment and local (non-travel) business meals. It seems that the questions which you raise are more closely related to the latter item for us. Meals related to, for example, recruitment and donor cultivation, i.e. events which have a distinct University-related business purpose, are not subject to the travel per diems, rather there is no cap with just a reasonableness test applied – we expect that dinners will not be the most expensive item at the most expensive restaurant in town. Purchase of alcohol would have to be pre-approved with a non-governmental funding source, e.g. gift account, identified. Again, there is no cap with just a reasonableness test applied. Ultimately, it is the CFO who defines reasonableness in the case of disputes. Larry >>> "Erika A. Hargadine" <xxxxxx@U.WASHINGTON.EDU> 12/3/2012 2:38 PM >>> Dear Colleagues: I am looking for advice on ways in which you/your department/your institution has handled educating your principal investigators on federal/state/institutional/departmental policies on reimbursements for meals over per diem and alcohol and what kind of departmental level policies have been set. Obviously, when applicable, we follow sponsor rules and then there are federal and state guidelines and then our own institutional guidelines. Generally speaking, the per diem rates we follow in our department are set by the GSA. Alcohol is on purely discretionary funds and we have a few budgets that allow for meals over per diem. These types of budgets are determined by our institution and include discretionary funds and clinical funds. Presently, as a department we have put further restriction for meals over per diem. In the few times we allow it (for instance, for faculty recruitment dinners), it is capped at 50 dollars a person and they are allowed a nice bottle of wine per four people capped at 50 dollars a bottle. Part of the reason for this is declining funds which can cover these types of meal reimbursements and discussions over what is appropriate use of funds going forward. There was a time, many years ago, we had large amounts of discretionary funds but these funds have declined over time. Unfortunately, we have had pushback from faculty for our departmental policies. Comments have ranged from "you are making these rules up" to "It is impossible to take guest speakers out to dinner at 32 dollars a plate and I won't incur these expenses on my own dime" to "how can we collaborate with researchers if we are discouraged by per diem" and so forth. I am just curious as to how others have handled this issue and how they have educated faculty on these types of policies which restrict meal and alcohol reimbursement. On a personal note, it has me flummoxed that there is so much push back in a time of fiscal belt tightening and economic downturn. I am hoping to better communicate these policies with faculty so that perhaps we can all return to concentrating on more important matters. E. Erika Hargadine CRA | Manager of Program Operations Department of Pathology, University of Washington Box 357470 |1959 NE Pacific Street C517 Seattle, WA 98195 Office 206-616-7562 Home Office: 206-713-4060 Hours: M-F 8-5 PM (occasional Fridays @ 4PM) NEW: See the 2012 Purchasing Seminar PowerPoint!<https://www.box.com/2012purchaseseminar> [med] ====================================================================== Instructions on how to use the RESADM-L Mailing List, including subscription information and a web-searchable archive, are available via our web site at http://www.healthresearch.org (click on the "LISTSERV" link in the upper right corner) A link directly to helpful tips: http://tinyurl.com/resadm-l-help ====================================================================== ====================================================================== Instructions on how to use the RESADM-L Mailing List, including subscription information and a web-searchable archive, are available via our web site at http://www.healthresearch.org (click on the "LISTSERV" link in the upper right corner) A link directly to helpful tips: http://tinyurl.com/resadm-l-help ======================================================================