Telecommuting Agreements
Are you an employer who started letting employees work at home during the COVID-19 pandemic?
Or maybe telecommuting has been a part of your work environment before the pandemic. Regardless, here are a few items to be aware of to be certain you're not opening you to ultimately litigation.
As an initial step, a good thing you can do to prevent potential legalities would be to possess a formal company policy along with a signed agreement that correlates to that policy. Both documents should address any potential issues that could arise when an employee works from home or perhaps in a public space from the office.
Here are some of the issues that should be addressed within the policy and also the agreement.
Privacy/Confidentiality
The company policy should highlight the fact that telecommuters who use their home computer must realize that the employer has the right to monitor or inspect an employee's computer – even if the employee is applying an individual computer. The agreement will include a nondisclosure agreement requiring employees to vow to not share company information while allowing the business to retrieve files when needed.
Security
To ensure that hackers can't access company information from an employee's computer, employees should operate their computer from a secure server or a virtual private network. As an extra layer of protection, employees should also use encryption, passwords, and network firewalls.
Timekeeping
The telecommuting agreement should list the employee's hours and require these to keep meticulous records or make use of an electronic tracking system. In situations where workhours fluctuate according to business needs, there should be an agreement specifying the number of hours the employee is going to be paid every week – whatever the hours they work.
Even with salaried employees exempt from overtime under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act, establishing normal work hours, including when workers are expected to be accessible by phone or email, usually creates a easier, dependable work routine.
Accommodations
The Occupational Safe practices Act (OSHA) necessitates that employers conserve a safe workplace for workers by preventing foreseeable hazards – even when employee works from home. While an employer generally doesn't have the authority to go into a worker's home, an employer can make it a part of the telecommuting agreement that to ensure compliance with OSHA standards inspection of the employee's home may be permitted.
Workplace Safety
Most courts consider home workplace locations an extension of the office. That means that a company could be held liable if an employee is injured while working from home. Employers should create a specific policy regarding work-related injuries that could occur in a worker's home. The insurance policy or agreement should designate a specific part of the employee's house where work will be performed – preferably apart from the rest of the house to make sure that injuries occur only in the designated areas.
Discrimination
Your policy should indicate which group or groups are eligible to work from home, and under what circumstances. Ensure your policy doesn't affect groups that could be identified inside a manner suggesting discriminatory intent, however, such as only women or only young employees.
Class Action Considerations
Ideally, each telecommuting employee must have another, individualized agreement. Individualized agreements protect employers from class action lawsuits. For example, in a situation where an employee brings a suit alleging the employer didn't properly record work hours, if all employees signed exactly the same agreement, the suit could be applied to all non-exempt telecommuting employees.
Zoning and Taxes
Some local ordinances restrict ale visitors to conduct business within their homes, and perhaps, permit local governments to levy taxes. The telecommuting agreement should stress that it is the employee's responsibility to ensure compliance with local zoning and regulations.
It is within your firm's power, of course, to discontinue telecommunicating when you believe the arrangement no longer meets your company's needs and your agreement should state so. It's in everyone's best interest, though, that you should provide employees with at least a 30 days' notice, especially to accommodate childcare issues along with other issues that may arise in the change.
