![]() But there is a general obligation (General Duty Clause) to protect employees from recognized hazards that arguably could apply to home offices. Federal OSHA does not have specific regulations regarding home-office/telework.Organizations should consider workplace safety issues for remote workers. Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) policy for employee personal devices used for work purposes.If the employer or employee will provide desk, chair, office equipment supplies, IT equipment (computer/tablet/phone) and related support.The extent the employer may structure/monitor/inspect physical workspace.The security of workspace, such as restrictions on use by other members of the household for non-work related purposes and password-protection of devices (particularly for employees dealing with confidential trade secrets, customer information, or medical records).Hotels and resorts are targeting workers who aren’t able or prefer not to work from home. The type of work may impact the workspace needed to work remotely. The same argument is true for remote workers who drive (to supplies, banks to drop off cash, to visit remote clients, etc.) Remote Workplace Setup The method of reimbursing expenses should account for the fact that reimbursements are not wages for tax purposes.įood delivery companies frequently face the risk of not reimbursing employees for miles driven for work, in the form of driver class actions lawsuits.Federal law prohibits an employer from requiring an employee to pay for the employer's business expenses if doing so would reduce the employee's earnings below the minimum wage. Employers in jurisdictions that do not have state-specific laws are not off the hook.Illinois, Massachusetts, Montana, and New Hampshire have specific state law requirements applicable to employee expense reimbursements.Whether certain expenses must be reimbursed may depend on whether the remote arrangement and/or related expenses are optional (either because they are not necessary to perform job duties or are available in the office). ![]() California requires employers to indemnify the employee for all necessary expenditures or losses incurred by the employee in direct consequence of the discharge of his or her duties.Many states have laws requiring employers to reimburse reasonable and necessary business expenses incurred by employees in the course of employment. Transportation (to visit clients, etc.).Printers (if documents cannot be utilized virtually for the position).Apps or software (particularly for timekeeping and scheduling).Organizations should determine everything employees need to work remotely, taking into account demands on productivity, and then decide whether to provide or reimburse employees for it. The opposite may be true in a remote work environment, where employees must provide what they need to do the work. Organizations typically provide what employees need to complete the job. In most cases, employers may satisfy the obligation to pay remote employees by providing reasonable time-reporting procedures and paying employees for all reported hours.Employers are not required to compensate employees for unreported hours of telework that they have no reason to believe had been performed because they neither knew nor should have known about the unreported hours.Employers must pay employees for unreported hours of telework that they know or have reason to believe had been performed.This is true even of hours of telework that are not authorized. Employers must pay employees for all hours of telework actually performed away from the primary worksite, including overtime work, provided that they knew or had reason to believe the work was performed.Work performed away from the primary worksite, including at the employee’s home, is treated the same as work performed at the primary worksite for purposes of compensability.Department of Labor released guidance yesterday on the obligation to track and pay hourly employees for their remote work. Organizations should define time management expectations for remote employees to address flexible work hours (for instance, if telecommuting due to childcare issues) and virtual availability. The line between work and personal may become blurred when an employee uses the same location for both.
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