San Francisco Employers Must Soon Provide Commuter Benefits
Effective January 19, 2009, San Francisco employers with 20 or more employees (including full-time, part-time, temporary employees, and employees who perform work outside of San Francisco) are required to offer commuter benefits to employees who work an average of at least 10 hours per week in San Francisco. An employer may comply with this new City Ordinance in one of three ways: (1) allowing employees to elect to exclude from taxable wages commuting costs incurred for transit passes (MUNI, BART, AMTRAK, CALTRAIN, SAMTRANS, or GOLDEN GATE TRANSIT) or vanpool charges, up to a maximum of $110 per month; (2) supplying the employees with paid transit passes for the public transit of the employee’s choosing, or reimbursing the employee for such costs, up to a current maximum of $45 per month; or (3) furnishing employees with employer-provided and funded transportation in a vanpool, bus or similar vehicle operated by or for the employer and at no cost to the employee.
Employers who fail to comply may be issued administrative citations and fines by San Francisco’s Department of the Environment. You can find more information on the Commuter Benefits Ordinance on San Francisco's Department of Environment website by clicking here.