Contact Us
Categories
- Emotional Support Animals
- Service Animals
- Employee Agreement
- remote work
- Federal Trade Commission
- LGBTQ
- Minors
- United States Department of Justice ("DOJ")
- work from home
- Arbitration
- Workplace health
- Trade Secrets
- Corporate
- Center for Disease Control
- Americans with Disabilities Act ("ADA")
- FFCRA
- Opioid Epidemic
- Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”)
- COVID-19
- IRS
- Temporary Leave
- Treasury
- Families First Coronavirus Response Act
- H.R.6201
- Health Care Law
- Paid Sick Leave
- Coronavirus
- Worker Misclassification
- Labor Law
- Overtime
- Kentucky Unemployment Insurance Commission
- Sexual Harassment
- FMLA Retaliation
- overtime rule
- Employer Wellness Programs
- Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act ("GINA")
- Kentucky minimum wage
- Minimum wage
- Employment Non-Discrimination Act ("ENDA")
- Independent Contractors
- OSHA
- Paid Time Off ("PTO")
- Sick Employees
- Wage and Hour
- Employee Benefits
- Employment Discrimination Laws
- ERISA
- Human Resource Department
- Kentucky Civil Rights Act (“KCRA”)
- Overtime Pay
- ADA Amendments Act of 2008 (“ADAAA”)
- Adverse Employment Action
- Americans with Disabilities Act
- Bring Your Own Device
- BYOD
- Civil Rights
- Compliance
- copyright
- Department of Labor ("DOL")
- EEOC
- Employee Handbook
- Employee Misconduct
- Employment Law
- Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)
- Family and Medical Leave Act (“FMLA”)
- Intellectual Property
- National Labor Relations Act (NLRA)
- National Labor Relations Board (NLRB)
- Pregnancy Discrimination Act
- Social Media
- Social Media Policies
- Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act
- U.S. Department of Labor
- U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”)
- Uncategorized
- Union
- Volunteer
- Work for Hire
- Young v. UPS
- Amazon
- Department of Health and Human Services
- Portal-to-Portal Act of 1947
- Security Checks
- Security Screening
- U.S. Supreme Court
- Federal contractors
- Kentucky Labor Cabinet’s Occupational Safety and Health Program (KOSH)
- Lane v. Franks
- Micro-unit
- Specialty Healthcare & Rehabilitation Center of Mobile
- Cloud
- Creech v. Brown
- EEOC v. Hill Country Farms
- Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Kaplan Higher Education Corp.
- Mine Safety and Health Administration ("MSHA")
- Non-exempt employees
- Northwestern
- Shazor v. Prof’l Transit Mgmt.
- Web Content Accessibility Guidelines
- Whistleblower
- "Ban-the-box"
- 2013)
- Berrier v. Bizer
- Bullying
- Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission
- Compensatory time off
- Conestoga Woods Specialties v. Sebelius
- Consumer Credit Protection Act (“CCPA”)
- Crystalline Silica
- Davis-Bacon and Related Acts
- Drug-Free Workplaces
- Earnings
- Ehling v. Monmouth-Ocean Hospital Service Corp.
- Federal Stored Communications Act (“SCA”)
- Illness and Injury Reports
- Job applications
- Jury duty
- Kentucky Department of Workers’ Claims
- Kentucky Wage and Hour Act
- Maternity Leave
- McNamara O’Hara Service Contract Act
- NFL Bullying Scandal
- Payroll
- Permissible Exposure Level ("PEL")
- Sebelius v. Hobby Lobby Stores
- Senate Bill 157
- Violence
- Wage garnishment
- WorkSmart Kentucky
- At-will employment
- Chapter 11 Bankruptcy
- Chenzira v. Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center
- COBRA
- Companionship services
- Defamation
- Defense of Marriage Act (“DOMA”)
- EEOC v. Fabricut
- EEOC v. The Founders Pavilion
- Employee of the Month Programs
- Endorsements
- Freedom of Speech
- Giant Food LLC
- Government employees
- Government shutdown
- Health-Contingent Wellness Programs
- HIPAA
- Home Health Care Workers
- KYSHRM 2013
- Madry v. Gibraltar National Corporation
- Mandatory vaccination policies
- Medical Exams
- Megivern v. Glacier Hills Incorporated
- Motivating Factor
- Obesity
- Online Defamation
- Participatory Wellness Programs
- Pennington v. Wagner’s Pharmacy
- Pension Plans
- Private employers
- Reference checks
- SHRM
- Small Business Administration (SBA)
- Social Media Ownership
- Supervisor
- Tangible employment actions
- Title VII retaliation cases
- Troyer v. T.John.E Productions
- United States v. Windsor
- University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center v. Nassar
- Vance v. Ball State University
- Contraceptive Mandate
- Employee Arrests
- Employee Forms
- Employee Hazards
- Employee photographs
- Employee Training
- Employer Group Health Plans
- Employer Mandate
- Employment Practices Liability Insurance
- Federal Workplace Agencies
- FICA
- Form I-9
- Gatto v. United Airlines and allied Aviation Services
- House Labor and Industry Committee
- KRS 391.170
- Litigation
- Online Account Protection
- Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act
- Play or Pay
- posting requirements
- Record Retention
- Religious Employer
- Right to Work Bill
- Sequester
- severance pay
- Supplemental Unemployment Compensation Benefits
- tax refund
- Telecommuting
- U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services
- Unfair Labor Practice
- United States v. Quality Stores
- White v. Baptist Memorial Health Care Corp.
- Crisis Management
- Job Description
- Job Requirement
- Kentucky’s Whistleblower Act
- Labor and Pensions ("HELP")
- Municipal Liability
- PhoneDog v. Kravitz
- Public Sector Liability
- Social Networking Online Protection Act (SNOP)
- social privacy laws
- Strategic Enforcement Plan (SEP)
- Wilson v. City of Central City
- Workplace Politics
- Class Action Waivers
- Criminal Background Checks
- Employee Performance Reviews
- Employee Personnel Files
- Federal Arbitration Act (FAA)
- Federal Department of Labor
- Hiring and Firing
- Informal Discussion Letter (“EEOC Letter”)
- Kentucky Labor Cabinet
- Salary Threshold
- Unemployment Benefits
- Workplace Discrimination, Harassment and Retaliation
- Business Insurance
- Communications Decency Act
- Employee Contracts
- Hosanna-Tabor Opinion
- Insurance Coverage
- Internet & Media Law
- Internet Defamation
- National Labor Relations Act
- Non-Compete Agreement
- Retaliation by Association
- Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act
- USERRA
Telecommuting—No Longer the Way of the Future?
Marissa Mayer is making news. She may also be single-handedly changing employer policies across the country. As Yahoo’s new CEO, Mayer already made headlines as the youngest female CEO in a Fortune 500 company. But now she is becoming known for what she does and not just who she is. Mayer recently instituted a ban on telecommuting for all Yahoo employees. The decision was a massive shock to company employees who routinely worked from remote locations. After all, it seems paradoxical that a tech giant like Yahoo requires employees to be physically present in the office for work when technology permits otherwise.
The internal memorandum from Yahoo’s human resources department which announced the change cited a “spirit of collaboration” that can only be achieved when employees are physically together. In addition, Mayer wants to increase productivity for the struggling company and this, in her opinion, is best done when employees are in the actual workplace.
To many, flexible work schedules, condensed work weeks, and telecommuting is the way of the future. Such workplace flexibility, though, can leave employers and HR departments wondering if their policies reflect the best practices for these conditions. If your business decides to offer a telecommuting policy, there are some issues that must be addressed.
First, who will be eligible? You should define eligibility based on positions, and not individuals. For example, you may think Bob is too unmotivated to work from home, but Rhonda would have no problem with efficiency. Yet distinguishing between the two could lead to a discrimination claim. A better policy may read, for example, “Non-support staff that have been with the business for at least two years are qualified to telecommute.”
Establish clear hours as to when the telecommuter should be working and reachable. The Fair Labor Standards Act and similar state laws apply to home-based worker, so employers need a system for tracking employee hours, including overtime.
Consider safety. While OSHA does not hold employers responsible for the safety of home offices, workers’ compensation laws do still apply. Employers will need coverage for employees who may never step foot in the office. There should also be reporting and investigation procedures in place, just as there are for workplace injuries. Claims arising from telecommute employees should be carefully scrutinized to determine if the injury is work-related.
One of the biggest concerns with flexible work schedules is how to achieve effective oversight. For that reason, consider what measurements you will use to measure success before allowing for telecommuting. Keep communication open. For instance, require telecommuters to send in a daily email detailing projects or assignments they are tackling for the day. Insist on a consistent schedule. Be certain that you are providing the same compensation, benefits, and opportunities for promotion to telecommuters that you give to non-telecommuters.
Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, consider the needs of your business. Mayer decided telecommuting no longer worked for Yahoo. Start-ups or businesses dependent on customer face time may take the same approach. For others, it can be a valuable program. Either way, it is important to address the issues discussed herein in your company policies and procedures. Regardless of the size of your business, do not just assume your employees understand.
Services may be performed by others.
This article does not constitute legal advice.