I have friends who all work for the same company. The president of the company has decided to change company policy with no notice, can he do that? All these people have been hired for the "main location" but are now expected to travel as far as 17.3 miles to 284.9 miles to another site. He used to put gas in their POV but now says "no". Is there a per diem requirement? If these people tell him no on traveling to another site because they don't have the gas or money to get the gas can they be fired or would that be unlawful termination? Please help me find a way to help these guys! Thank you!

Texas employment law does not require reimbursement of business expenses at all. It is not illegal to change the policy unless the policy constituted a contractual obligation, which is probably highly unlikely. It would not be an illegal termination if the employee was discharged for being unable to put out these funds; however, it's pretty likely they would get UI benefits.

Existing employees may be able to deduct some or all of the unreimbursed business expenses on the 1040. See a tax preparer/advisor for what records need to be kept.

Sorry, I'm sure this is not the answer you wanted to hear.