Can I be held liable for business related expenses that the company is now saying were unauthorized?

There are different causes of action under which they may try to recoup these from you. Depending on which ones they go after, the statute of limitation may have run on them which means they may be time barred from bringing those claims. Assuming they are not time barred and they do file a lawsuit against you, they will still have to prove their case and present the evidence. You also will be entitled to a copy of their books and records through the discovery process, specifically request for production of document. You shouldn't be too concerned that you don't have copies of the records because if and when you find yourself in a position to defend yourself you will be able to propound discovery on them and obtain their copies.

The employer can sue you but that doesn't mean it can win. There are two statutes that may help your position. California Labor Code sections 2800 and 2802 require an employer to indemnify an employee for expenses incurred on the job. I’ve pasted the two statutes below: 2800. An employer shall in all cases indemnify his employee for losses caused by the employer’s want of ordinary care. 2802. (a) An employer shall indemnify his or her employee for all necessary expenditures or losses incurred by the employee in direct consequence of the discharge of his or her duties, or of his or her obedience to the directions of the employer, even though unlawful, unless the employee, at the time of obeying the directions, believed them to be unlawful. (b) All awards made by a court or by the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement for reimbursement of necessary expenditures under this section shall carry interest at the same rate as judgments in civil actions. Interest shall accrue from the date on which the employee incurred the necessary expenditure or loss. (c) For purposes of this section, the term “necessary expenditures or losses” shall include all reasonable costs, including, but not limited to, attorney’s fees incurred by the employee enforcing the rights granted by this section. Even if an expense was unauthorized, the employer may still have to reimburse you. All that said, surely there is more to the story than this. You may want to speak with one or more experienced employment law attorneys with whom you can go over the details. To find a plaintiffs employment attorney in California, please go to the web site of the California Employment Lawyers Association (CELA). CELA is the largest and most influential bar association in the state for attorneys who represent working people. The web site is www.cela.org. Click on "Find a CELA Member" and you can search by location and practice area. I hope you can resolve your situation and wish you the best.

The above answers are right on! I just want to make a practical point that the amount in controversy is likely less than $10,000-$25,000, unless you flew first class internationally on many occasions. A corporation is limited to $5000 in small claims court and the expense of filing suit in California Superior court (and attorney fees) makes this a walk away case.