Hi, employed in Virginia. Job is funded by a federal grant. Part of the requirements of the grant are to attend conferences out of state. This has been fine in the past with all expenses reimbursed (employee pays up front, files expense report, gets paid back within a week), but the airline notified that bad weather might impact the return flight. My friend asked their boss what to do if the flight gets cancelled and they have to spend the extra night out of state, and the boss said “there's no money in the budget for another night.” Implying that the friend either has to foot the bill or sleep in the airport. Oh and the friend is four months pregnant.
My question is, is this legal? If not, what specific laws or regulations or statutes can we reference to push back?