Relocation Expense Policy

Moravian University may assist newly appointed full-time faculty (including 9–10-month positions) and administrative staff with certain expenses related to a one-time relocation from their current community to 60 miles or less from Moravian University (Bethlehem or Lancaster campus designated as primary work location). To be eligible for reimbursement, new employees must move a minimum of 60 miles from their present home within the first year of hire and have a reasonable expectation of remaining in their position for longer than one year. All approved relocation expense amounts must be documented in the employee’s appointment letter from Human Resources. Employees have one year from the date of hire to complete the relocation and submit the expenses for reimbursement. All reimbursements for relocation costs paid to employees are taxable wages and subject to federal, state, OASDI, and Medicare taxes as required by the IRS. These taxable wages will be added to an employee’s paycheck following the move and reported on the employee’s W-2. The information below outlines the options available and the procedures for reimbursement.

Commercial Mover

The institution agrees to pay a portion of costs relating to a single relocation for a newly appointed faculty or administrative staff member’s household. The institution will, when a commercial mover is used, pay up to 60%, capped at $2,500 (for temporary one or two-year assignment the reimbursable cap is $1,250) of the actual expense incurred for the Transportation Charge (which is determined by the base weight-mileage rate also known as Linehaul Charge). This may include seasonal rate differential and other additional typical transportation charges. Items not included in covered expenses are valuation (insurance), storage, warehouse handling, special servicing, piano or organ transport services, containers, packing, or unpacking services. Vehicle transport or mileage, and employee and family travel expenses are the employee's responsibility and are not reimbursable by the institution.

If the faculty or administrative staff member elects to acquire the services of a commercial mover, it will be the responsibility of the employee to negotiate all details of the move, which should include a mutually agreed upon pickup and delivery schedule as well as billing arrangements. The contractual agreement for the move will be between the employee and the shipper. It will be the responsibility of the employee to pay the invoice to the shipper in a timely manner.

Self-Move

If the employee does not use a commercial mover to relocate their household belongings, there are three options the employee can choose from.

  1. Should the new employee choose to relocate their household belongings without the assistance of a commercial mover, the institution will reimburse the following costs: moving truck rental, automobile trailer attached to the moving truck for one (1) personal automobile, gas expense for the truck used in the move (not included in the rental charge), tolls for the truck used in the move, and reasonable labor charges for loading and unloading. Wages exceeding the federal minimum hourly rate are not reimbursable.
  2. In lieu of a moving truck rental, mileage, and tolls for one (1) personal automobile is allowable. Lodging costs for the employee from the old primary residence to the new residence is allowable if the relocation is more than 500 miles. Lodging reimbursement is not to exceed the current federal per diem rates. The cost of traveling from the employee’s former home to the new home should be by the shortest, most direct route available by conventional transportation. Thus, additional stops or side trips during the relocation will not be reimbursed.
  3. If the employee has no household belongings to relocate, personal travel in the form of one economy flight may be allowable with prior approval from Human Resources.

All self-move scenarios above are capped at $2,500 (for temporary one- or two-year assignments the reimbursable cap is $1,250).

Relocation expenses not covered:

  1. Costs to move a boat, motorcycle, mobile homes, piano, organ, domestic or non-domestic animal/s, or other non-household items
  2. Costs of pre-relocation house-hunting trips and temporary housing
  3. Storage expenses for furniture and other household items
  4. Cost of cleaning a new or former residence
  5. Costs of meals and incidental expenses during relocation

Any extenuating circumstances that do not conform to the policy, must be approved to be eligible for reimbursement. Written approval is required by the Human Resources Office and the respective Vice President.

Reimbursement Process

All original receipts must be submitted along with an Accounts Payable voucher (located on AMOS). Please remember to keep the receipts during the relocation process. All allowable expenses should be summarized on the voucher and original receipts must be attached. Human Resources will approve the allowable relocation expenses and indicate the account number on the voucher. Vouchers can be dropped off in person, emailed with all receipts scanned and attached, sent in campus mail, or sent as a completed package in DocuSign. Once all required information is reviewed, Human Resources will approve and forward to Payroll for processing in the upcoming payroll cycle.

Anyone with questions about this information should contact Justine Rossi, Assistant Director of Human Resources at rossij02@moravian.edu or 610-625-7754.

Approved: 3/2016
Revised: 4/2019
Reviewed: 1/2022
Revised: 7/2022
Revised: 8/2023