Employment Law strategies for a Telecommuting Workforce

Description

As the economy begins to improve, you could be in danger of losing valuable talent. If you have staff members who commute long-distance, they may be seeking employment closer to home, or they may be lured away by employers that offer flexible scheduling and offsite work arrangements. The Telework Coalition estimates that more than 45 million U.S. workers now telecommute at least once a week. Unfortunately, with a remote workforce comes a whole new array of HR headaches, from litigation and safety risks to security and wage and hour issues. At this briefing you will learn how to reduce your organization's legal risks while using telecommuting as a way to keep your star performers. Employment law attorneys experienced in advising employers on managing offsite employees will cover: Examples of effective telecommuting policies: What should your policy contain and not contain? How should employers define telecommuting? How does a telecommuting policy mesh with federal overtime requirements? What should your policy say about employer- vs. employee-owned equipment? What about proprietary information? What about guidelines regarding reimbursement for expenses incurred by telecommuting workers? Wage and hour concerns, including tips for managing nonexempt employees in telework arrangements. Safety issues: What about ergonomic compliance and other safety concerns? How should accidents and injuries be reported? Should employers inspect home offices? What about liability insurance? Security concerns when employees have access to sensitive information from home
?Discrimination issues to consider when deciding which employees should be allowed to telecommute
?Disability issues, including how employers can use telecommuting to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act
?Supervisory issues, including the importance of keeping the lines of communication open when some employees work offsite
We hope you will join us for this timely and informative briefing.