NHRMA Q & A

NHRMA Profitable Telework Program Participant Questions

Question 1: What are the risks associated with telecommuting in terms of liability, workers' compensation, illegal activities in the household, etc.? Read Reply

Question 2: How do we determine who is eligible to participate in a telework or compressed workweek program? Read Reply

Question 3: Is it better to start with a pilot program or a full rollout? Read Reply

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Question 1: What are the risks associated with telecommuting in terms of liability, workers' compensation, illegal activities in the household, etc.?

Reply: A quick disclaimer. TAG is not a legal firm. You should confirm any information with a Labor attorney. This response is based on TAG's experiences and information obtained from our Labor attorneys.

A link has been included below that provides information about OSHA's removal of home-based workers from OSHA standards. In effect, the employee becomes responsible for the safety of their work location, cleaning up spills, toys, etc. As an employer it is still important that you provide both home-office safety and ergonomic guidelines and include a location in your telework agreement that indicates that they have read and understand them.

There are exceptions, such as employees who work with hazardous materials, in which the employer may still be held liable.

Third-parties, whether co-workers, customers or suppliers are not allowed to conduct meetings at a teleworker's home-location as the liability laws are not the same as those for the teleworker.

Workers' Comp issues have to be dealt with on a case-by-case basis. As you most likely do not have consistent visibility of how and where the employee is working, you cannot ensure that they are following the ergonomic guidelines. Again, the policy should state that they must have a suitable telework site and follow the ergonomic guidelines, but if an employee disregards these and files a complaint for something like Carpal Tunnel Syndrome it is up to the employer to determine how to proceed. This is true for any Worker's Comp issue that may have occurred in the workplace as a result of conducting everyday work.

If an employee is participating in illegal activities not associated with the employer while working from home the employer is not responsible. If an employee is using their employer's data-files, personal information or other employer data the employer will have to show that they put sufficient safeguards in place, possibly including language in the policy, sufficient data access security, password protections, an office or filing cabinet that can be locked or other measures to allow a teleworker to handle data safely. Tracking data access via a remote terminal server or software such as GoToMyPC will allow eDiscovery tracking.

The link to the OSHA ruling is included below.
www.computerworld.com/s/article/40989/Telecommuters_Exempt_From_OSHA_Rules

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Question 2: How do we determine who is eligible to participate in a telework or compressed workweek program?

Reply: Using job-titles can be an ineffective method for determining the ability of an employee to participate in an alternative work program. We have implemented programs with police officers, nurses, administrative assistants and others who many often do not think of being able to join an AWP. The most effective method is to allow all employees to join and consider their job-tasks and collaboration needs. Having multiple AWP's available, (e.g. police officers may be able to work a 9/80 compressed workweek program effectively), as does reinforcing the fact that a program may only impact an employee's job one day per week or every other week. Our surveys have shown that many teleworkers get the most personal benefit and employee satisfaction when they are allowed to telework that first day per week, even if it's the only day per week they are allowed to telework.

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Question 3: Is it better to start with a pilot program or a full rollout?

Reply: Organizations that are in the process of proving the concept of an AWP may benefit from conducting a pilot first. It is critical to develop metrics around the success of the program and to gauge these afterwards through data collection and/or a survey of participants, their managers and their co-workers. Other elements to consider are how to communicate the pilot to the participating groups and the rest of the organization as well as an overall timeframe and "go/no-go" decision so that you can set expectations for all employees.

Organizations that have decided to implement an AWP will want to consider a full rollout. A pilot will still allow adjustments to be made after the pilot and before a full rollout, but it will require additional resources and delay the benefits of a full rollout.

The resources required to conduct a pilot or a full rollout are not significantly different in terms of developing the foundation of an AWP. The policy, agreement, development of metrics, communication plan and other elements all need to be