Page 16 - BusinessWest May 1, 2023

Managing Hybrid or Remote Workers
Obligations Don’t Vanish Because Employees Are Working at Home
BY JOHN S. GANNON, ESQ.
Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, working remotely and other flexible work models like hybrid schedules were fairly uncommon. Now,
allowing employees to work remotely at least a few days a week has become the norm for jobs that can be done from home.
One research summary suggested that 74% of U.S. companies are using, or plan to implement, a permanent hybrid work model in 2023, and 55% of employees want to work remotely at least three days a week. With remote work becoming more and more common, businesses need to be aware of employ- ment-related legal issues that can bubble up when employees are working from home (and probably in their pajamas).
Wage and Hour Issues
One of the biggest challenges for businesses with teleworkers is compliance with wage and hour laws, which are laws that govern issues like payment of wages and meal breaks. Federal and state laws can differ considerably on these topics.
For example, federal law, and many state-law equivalents, do not require that an employer provide employees with meal breaks. Here in Massachusetts; however, state law requires employers to provide
a 30-minute unpaid meal break to those who work
more than six hours in a work day. In New Hamp- shire, workers are required to get a meal break after working five hours, unless it’s feasible to eat while working. Massachusetts does not have this ‘feasibil- ity’ exception to its meal- break statute.
Similarly, some states (including Massachusetts) require the payout of
accrued, unused vacation time upon separation from employment. Most states do not have this require- ment. Other states require employers to reimburse employees for home-related business expenses, such as a laptop, upgrading home internet, or phone service.
Although this is type of reimbursement is techni- cally not required in Massachusetts, the state attor- ney general’s office has suggested that employers should reimburse expenses that are “unavoidable and necessary” (whatever that means). Bottom line, busi- nesses need to be familiar with the wage and hour laws of each state where employees live if remote work is allowed.
One wage and hour issue that does not vary from state to state is the requirement to pay non-exempt
workers for all hours worked. This can be a problem with remote workers, regardless of where they live. Consider an hourly employee who answers a few emails from home during non-core working hours. This is working time, even if the employee has signed out for the day.
Employers need to have policies and practice
in place to make sure all working time at home is recorded and paid for. Otherwise, they might be look- ing at a costly failure-to-pay-wages lawsuit.
Family and Medical Leave Laws
Similar to wage and hour laws, employee family and medical leave entitlements can vary considerably from state to state. As readers are likely aware, in Massachusetts, employees are allowed to take up to 20 weeks of paid leave per year to care for their own medical condition. Full-time employees also earn an additional 40 hours of sick time to use during the year. Employees working from home who live outside of Massachusetts may not be entitled to this leave. However, if they live in Connecticut or New York, they would be entitled to paid medical leave and sick time required by their
home state’s
laws. Because
this issue can be
Remote
>>
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