LOS ANGELES COUNTY
DEPARTMENT OF MENTAL HEALTH
  Policy 900.01 Travel
 
  PROCEDURES
  1. Submission of Travel Requests and Travel Advances
     
    1. Employees shall prepare and submit all completed travel requests through the online Service Request Catalog at least fifteen (15) working days prior to the date of departure. Completed travel requests shall be electronically forwarded to each appropriate supervisory level for approval:
       
      1. Supervisor,
      2. Bureau Analyst, and
      3. Deputy Director.
         
    2. The DMH Travel Coordinator shall receive all travel requests, including travel requests with an advance, at least 15 working days prior to the date of departure. 
       
      1. If the DMH Travel Coordinator does not receive the travel requests within the time frames mentioned above, a late submission justification and corrective action plan shall be submitted for approval from the Chief Deputy Director of Administration or designee.
         
  2. Completion of travel requests via the online Service Request Catalog
     
    1. Travel requests shall include the following information:
       
      1. Employee Information:
         
        1. Employee name
        2. Employee number and payroll title
        3. Employee office phone number
        4. Name of the program/bureau/unit
        5. Work address: street address, city, zip code, and floor
           
      2. Trip Information:
         
        1. Destination(s), travel departure, and arrival dates
        2. A detailed purpose and justification of the trip describing the benefit to DMH and the County
        3. Mode of travel
           
      3. Expense Information:
         
        1. Transportation amount
        2. Baggage fee
        3. Ground transportation amount (shuttle, rental car, or taxi)
        4. Airport parking
        5. Lodging
        6. Meals
           
      4. Funding:
         
        1. Funding source
        2. Project code
        3. Unit code
           
      5. Attachments:
         
        1. Invitation letter, event agenda, or conference brochures
        2. Itinerary (from Concur, the County-approved travel store)
        3. Hotel confirmation
        4. Outside Training Request (OTR), if applicable
        5. Approved Request for Overtime or Time Off (ROTO) for overtime, if applicable
           
  3. Completion of travel advances via online Service Request Catalog
     
    1. In addition to the information listed in Section B, Travel advance requests must also include the following information:
       
      1. Travel advance justification
      2. Travel advance amount
         
  4. Completion of Travel arrangements through Concur
     
    1. All County employees are mandated by the Board of Supervisors, effective November 1, 2011, to use the self-service online travel store, Concur, to make all business travel arrangements including air, rail, rental car, and lodging. Phone agents are also available for more complex travel arrangements; however, this involves higher transaction fees. Therefore, phone agents can only be used when booking international travel or when flying domestically to multiple cities during the same trip (for example, flying from Los Angeles to Phoenix to Sacramento, and returning back to Los Angeles). Domestic flights from the Los Angeles region to another city and returning back to the Los Angeles region may only be booked using the self-service online travel store.
       
      1. Travel reservations and Concur support: https://www.concursolutions.com.
      2. Concur provides 24-hour traveler emergency assistance. Live agents are available to assist employees during normal business hours at (877) 454-8785 and after-hours for emergency assistance at (800) 639-9368.
         
    2. Employees shall contact the DMH Travel Coordinator in the Administrative Support Bureau to set up their Travel Profile on Concur by emailing the following information:
       
      1. Employee name as it appears on their driver's license
      2. Employee number
      3. Five-digit eCAPS unit code
      4. Work email address
         
    3. Employees must obtain approval for travel from the Workforce Education and Training (WET) Division before making a reservation on the online travel store.
       
    4. Employees shall notify the travel store and the DMH Travel Coordinator if they need to change or cancel travel reservations. Unauthorized travel changes made that result in additional costs are subject to reimbursement to the Department. 
       
    5. Air Travel
       
      1. TRAVELERS MUST KEEP A COPY OF THE AIRLINE TICKET CONFIRMATION NOTICE WHICH MUST BE UPLOADED TO THE ONLINE SERVICE CATALOG EVEN IF THE ONLY TRAVEL EXPENSE IS THE AIRLINE TICKET.
         
        1. Any air travel booked outside the online travel store, Concur, is a policy violation and shall NOT be reimbursed. The County shall only reimburse air travel booked through Concur.
           
    6. Rental Cars
       
      1. Employees may rent a car at their destination only when it is less expensive than other transportation (e.g., taxi, airport shuttle) or the nature of the travel requires it. In situations where other economical mode(s) of ground transportation is available, a justification shall be submitted to the Chief Deputy Director of Administration or designee for approval to demonstrate the need for a rental car.
      2. Non-mileage permittees can request hotel parking expenses on the travel request via the online Service Request Catalog, in the field for "Other." Travelers shall submit an Expense Claim form for reimbursement.
         
    7. Lodging
       
      1. Hotel reservations shall be secured with a personal credit card. Travelers shall submit an Expense Claim form for reimbursement. Employees are responsible for:
         
        1. Any non-business related spending (e.g., room service, pay-per-view entertainment, spa, etc.) beyond the basic lodging expense.
        2. Cancelling hotel rooms by using the online travel store, Concur, and contacting the hotel before the cancellation period ends. Cancellation deadlines are usually based on the local time of the hotel. Employees shall request and record the cancellation number in case of billing disputes.
        3. Any fees charged by the hotel for late cancellation or no-show are the employee's responsibility unless the employee can document circumstances outside their control.
           
      2. The only exception to making hotel reservations through anything other than the online travel store is when a group/conference rate is provided which is less expensive than the rate on Concur.
         
        1. Travelers are to verify if the travel store, Concur, can match the conference rate. If Concur cannot match the conference rate, the employee shall document the effort on the online Service Request Catalog and can book directly with the conference or hotel.
           
  5. Submission of Expense Claims
     
    1. Expense Claims shall be submitted no later than two (2) weeks after returning from an approved trip. Claims shall be made only for actual expenses incurred as part of approved travel.
       
    2. If a travel advance was received, the employee MUST submit an Expense Claim within two (2) weeks as well.
       
      1. When the travel advance amount exceeds the Expense Claim amount, Accounting Division shall notify the employee of the total amount due after the Expense Claim has been submitted and allowable reimbursements have been verified. The employee must send a check or money order made payable to the "County of Los Angeles" within the time period specified by the Accounting Division. If the payment is not submitted to the Accounting Division, cash collections section, within the stated period after the notification, the employee may be subject to disciplinary action.
      2. When the Expense Claim amount is equal to the travel advance amount, an Expense Claim shall still be filed.
      3. When the Expense Claim amount exceeds the travel advance amount, a general warrant shall be issued to the claimant for the remaining balance.
         
  6. Completion of Expense Claims forms
     
    1. The Expense Claim form shall be completed with the following information:
       
      1. Employee name
      2. Employee number
      3. Employee home address
      4. Employee payroll title
      5. Employee bureau/facility
      6. Employee signature
      7. Date of claim (date form completed)
      8. Period of claim (inclusive of travel dates)
      9. Indication of each authorized expense claimed:
         
        1. Date - each date's expenses shall be listed separately
        2. Description of the expense incurred
        3. City where the expense was incurred
           
      10. Total of expenses claimed
         
    2. Original itemized receipts shall be attached for all claimed expenses, except for meals. A copy of the itemized receipt(s) from the food establishment can be attached in lieu of the original receipt.
       
    3. Completed Expense Claim forms shall be submitted to the employee's immediate supervisor for verification and approval.
       
    4. Once an Expense Claim is approved, the supervisor shall submit the Expense Claim form and all attachments to the Accounting Division for payment processing and provide a copy to the employee.
       
    5. After the payment has been processed, employees shall be notified when a reimbursement warrant is available for pick-up from the Accounting Division.
       
  7. Notification of approval or denial of travel
     
    1. The DMH Travel Coordinator shall promptly approve or reject travel requests. Travel requests that are incomplete shall be rejected.
       
    2. Examples of incomplete travel requests include:
       
      1. No attachments (when required);
      2. Incorrect funding information; and
      3. No overtime ROTO attached (when required).
         
    3. Employees have the opportunity to add any attachment prior to the travel request reaching the DMH Travel Coordinator for approval.
       
    4. The bureau analyst shall verify that all information is attached and the information in the request is correct before it is forwarded to the DMH Travel Coordinator.
       
    5. Employees shall receive an email from the online Service Request Catalog letting them know if their travel has been approved or rejected.