Updated travel policy clarifications for staff

[Andrew van der Stock]

Travel expenses and staff travel policy clarifications. The staff handbook governs all staff travel with the following clarifications. 

Staff with credit cards can make travel bookings and expense reasonable travel expenses for approved travel, such as going to AppSec EU or AppSec USA. 

Reasonable travel expenses are defined per the staff handbook and are aligned with the IRS per diem travel expenses. 

All staff travel is governed by the staff handbook with the following clarifications, which will be updated in a future staff handbook: 

- Staff must choose a refundable airfare and hotel booking type to avoid losses or unusable "refunds"

- Staff travel meal allowances are for personal per diem expenses only, unless otherwise approved by the Executive Director, such as paying for a staff dinner. 

- Staff must choose the lowest airfare with their likely luggage in mind, as airlines have taken to charging basic economy passengers ridiculous luggage fees, but be able to justify their selection based upon this criteria. Usually this means choosing the refundable airfare type.

- Premium economy is only permissible for international travel with a total flight duration of over 8 hours. The Executive Director can waive exceptions to this in case of medical or other reasonable accommodations. All other travel is economy class travel.

In all cases, staff are expected to respect that we are a nonprofit and use their best judgment when booking and choosing dining options. 

I will be bringing a travel policy to the Board for approval for volunteer and Board travel. 

thanks,

Andrew