Are Mandatory Employee Meetings, Training Courses, or License Renewals Reimbursable?

The choice of dental assistant education and dental office to work in makes all the difference. You want to get high-quality, hands-on lessons that you need to prosper in your RDA career. The benefits of working in a good dental practice should include working inside a clean and professional atmosphere. It may come with benefits such as paid vacation, sick leave, medical insurance, pension plan, and different types of reimbursements.

If you’ve just started your career and are not acquainted with reimbursement possibilities, we will discuss the reimbursement of mandatory employee meetings, training courses, and RDA license renewals.

Mandatory Employee Meetings

Both salaried and non-salaried employees are sometimes required to attend mandatory meetings on their day off. When it comes to salaried employees, they are not entitled to reimbursement for attendance. Even on scheduled days off, attending mandatory meetings are compensated through their salaries, and they are not paid for the overtime.

As for non-salaried employees, the FLSA (Fair Labor Standards Act) says that employers must compensate their employees for attending mandatory meetings (which are seen as working time). Paying non-salaried employees is required by law. However, scheduling mandatory meetings during an employee’s workweek is not. If a meeting is held outside regular operating hours, is not job-related, doesn’t require other work to be done, and is not mandatory – the employer isn’t required to reimburse for attendance.

Training Courses

Some legislation mandates that employers must reimburse their employees for certain kinds of training. If employees are obligated to go, the employer should pay for their employee’s participation. On the other hand, if programs and courses the employee takes are not regulated by law or are irrelevant to their job, the employee is the one who should pick up the tab. And if a training course isn’t directly related to someone’s job, the practice can decide not to pay even when the classes are held on weekends or in the evening outside of work hours.

In the case of RDAs and RDAEFs, they are required to obtain specific course certifications to get their license. However, obtaining a license is not the responsibility of the dental practice but the licensee. The same goes for license renewal.

License Renewal

The expiration of RDA licenses is based on the licensee’s birth year and birth month. The first license will expire on the last day of your birth month in the first even or odd year that corresponds with your birth year. That means that a license must be renewed every two years. Practicing with an inactive license is considered a criminal act.

RDA license renewal is the licensee’s responsibility, meaning that it is not reimbursable. The minimum requirement for your renewal period includes 50 hours of continuing education, including Basic Life Support, 2 hours of California Dental Law, and 2 hours of Infection Control. The state is the final authority on licensure requirements, and all applicants must meet three requirements: continual education, clinical examination, and written examination.

Dental Specialties Institute, Inc. is a provider of continuing education for RDAs and RDAEFs. Our courses meet the DBC’s requirements for license renewal every two years. Together with us, you can meet the requirements and renew your RDA license to be able to continue working and building your career. For any further information, feel free to contact us.