What You Should Know About Telecommuting and Risk Management
By Priscilla Kohl, HRTools Business Writer
Under Pressure to Reduce Costs and Increase Productivity?
How can a business compete with all the changes in today's economy? Telecommuting to the rescue: By working remotely, employees can help employers better compete.
Whether employees work at a central location, under the direct supervision of the employer, or from home, employers face risk management issues. When employees work remotely, employers should educate themselves about the risks and weigh the potential liabilities against the business advantages.
In today's 24/7 global and knowledge-based economy, the physical location of a business and its employee productivity are not as closely intertwined as in the past. Technical, social and economic changes are affecting major shifts in how employees work and produce.
U.S. Department of Labor Supports Telecommuting
The U.S. Department of Labor's OSHA Instruction, "Home-Based Worksites" Web site entry states, "Family-friendly, flexible and fair work arrangements, including telecommuting, can benefit individual employees and their families, employers, and society as a whole." Telecommuting is a flexible working arrangement where employees work at home or from a remote location. Normally this working arrangement is best suited for positions that are output-based instead of time-based monitored. However, even some time-based monitored positions can be performed in a telecommuting arrangement such as customer-service responders (employees who respond to customer inquiries by phone or e-mail, or both).
Advanced technologies are making it easier to work from home or away from a centralized location. Examples of other jobs well suited to telecommuting are those that require concentration or independent work such as accounting, graphic design, medical transcribing, research and analysis, travel agent, Web development or writing, to name just a few.
As a quick informational jump-start, here are a few telecommuting risk-management considerations that employers will want to evaluate:
1. Potential for Employee Discrimination Issues
When employees telecommute, it is possible that other employees will claim that they too should be allowed to telecommute. For instance by giving some employees the right to work from home, it can open the door for some employees to argue that telecommuting is a reasonable accommodation for their disabilities.
Workplace discrimination is generally forbidden by federal and state laws. To stay current, employers may wish to regularly review and bookmark the U.S Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) Web site. Employers will also want to note that the Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act was signed into law on September 25, 2008. This recent piece of legislation made significant changes to the Americans with Disabilities Act passed in 1990. p>
In addition, employers should consult with legal counsel to make sure that they are in compliance with federal and state laws.
2. Potential for Data Security Breaches
It's no surprise that paper records will soon be a thing of the past. Companies are increasingly using computers to store employee, client and customer data. This data includes everything from tax information to employee benefits information. With the Internet and e-mail, employers need to think about how they monitor remote locations and protect confidential information.
In fact, many Fortune 100 companies are now appointing a chief privacy officer to their C-level ranks. This senior-level position is responsible for managing the risks and business impacts of privacy laws and policies. At minimum, employees should be trained about the potential for security breaches. Employers may also want to consider confidentiality agreements.
3. Potential for Increased Workers’ Compensation Claims
Generally, employers are not held responsible for what happens while an employee is en route to work. Exceptions to this rule include employees who work from a remote location. According to the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), "Employer telecommuting policies should address: (a) the specific area of the home which constitutes the "home office" and, (b) the individual's normal work hours. This may minimize disputes about whether injuries that occur outside of the "home office" area are covered by the employer's workers' compensation policy. Employers also should recognize the risk of fraudulent workers' compensation claims by telecommuters."
With regard to home inspections, SHRM also says that OSHA has indicated they "will not conduct inspections of the employee's home offices", "will not hold employers liable for employees' home offices" and "does not expect employers to inspect home offices of the employees."
However, OSHA states on their Web site that, "Employers who are required, because of their size or industry classification, by the OSH Act to keep records of work-related injuries and illnesses, will continue to be responsible for keeping such records, regardless of whether the injuries occur in the factory, in a home office, or elsewhere, as long as they are work-related, and meet the recordability criteria of 29 CFR Part 1904."
4. Potential for Overworking That Can Lead to Stress and Fatigue
This is a growing and serious health concern. As stated in the opening paragraph, our rapidly changing global business environment is adapting to an 'open-for-business' 24/7 mentality with perceived or real expectations that some employees are always available.
Add to that, especially during times of economic crisis, many businesses are prone to frequent waves of downsizing that stretch staff levels significantly lower. After surviving rounds of layoffs, some employees can start to sense that they are expected to do more than the normal workload of one employee.
Employers should do all they can to avoid overworking employees. Because of the negative impact on morale and health, overloading employees can prove detrimental to both employers and employees.
According to an article published by EHS Today (The Magazine for Environment, Health and Safety Leaders), a Circadian Technologies Inc. study found that when overtime hours go up, so do workers' compensation costs and a company's health-care costs.
As employers look to cope and better compete with all the financial, social and technological changes, telecommuting is rapidly taking hold in our society. Both the economy and our society can significantly benefit from its potential to improve economical, social and personal conditions. For telecommuting to succeed, employers need to earn and develop a trusting relationship with their employees and the same holds true for employees. As with any human relationship, levels of trust, good-will and judgment should be managed to make it a healthy and successful working arrangement.
This content is for informational purposes only. To ensure compliance with federal and state laws, legal counsel should be consulted.
<p>Whether employees work at a central location under direct supervision or from home, employers face risk management issues. When evaluating telecommuting options, employers should educate themselves about the risks and weigh potential liabilities against the business advantages.<br /></p>
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