Teleworking Compliance

Federal laws that impact teleworking.

 

FLSA - Fair Labor Standards Act. The FLSA establishes overtime rules and recordkeeping standards regarding hours worked.

• The term “hours worked” includes all time during which an employee is required or allowed to perform work for the employer, regardless of where the work is done.



 

OSHA - Occupational Safety and Health Act. OSHA requires employers to provide workplaces free from known hazards and record workplace injuries.

• OSHA requires that workplace injuries, including those that happen at a home office be recorded by the employer.

• OSHA does not require inspections of teleworkers’ homes, will not conduct inspections of home offices nor hold employers liable for their employees’ home offices. If OSHA were to receive a complaint about a home office, the complainant will be advised of this policy.



 

WC - Worker’s Compensation. Worker’s Compensation provides compensation to employees who develop an injury or illness during employment.

• Determining whether a teleworker’s injury/illness is covered under WC is challenging because it must be determined if the injury was a result of a home office workplace or a residential situation.

• Injuries or illness that an employee may consider work-related (including slips or falls) should be reported to the supervisor immediately, regardless of the location where it occurred.

• Managers should report these injuries to HR as quickly as possible, within 24 hours.

• It is not the manager’s or HR’s role to determine if the injury is work-related. This decision is made by the WC carrier.



 

ADA - Americans with Disabilities Act. The ADA requires employers with 15 or more employees to provide reasonable accommodation for employees with disabilities.

• While telework may be considered a reasonable accommodation in some situations, employers are not required to provide telework as an accommodation. 

o Employer may consider regular job duties, employee eligibility and available technology when determining if telework is a suitable reasonable accommodation for the situation.



FMLA - Family and Medical Leave Act. The FMLA provides job-protected leave to eligible employees of qualified employers who are absent due to incapacitation caused by a serious health condition or to care for a qualifying family member with a serious health condition.

• Telework is not an option when an employee is incapacitated with a serious health condition and is on a physician- approved FMLA leave.