OSHA Retreats on Its Telecommuters Policy
May 1, 2000
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration "clarified" its
position on the subject of telecommuters after the article appearing in the
March 2000 issue of the Holland & Knight LLP Employment Law Letter,
"Telecommuters and Cell Phones: New Reasons for Concern When Employees Work
Away from the Office." This "clarification" is a retreat from
OSHA’s controversial position, that employers may be responsible for
inspecting employees’ home offices to ensure compliance with OSHA’s
standards. This "clarification" is due, in large part, to an outcry
from Congress, employers, and numerous employee and civil rights groups (bad
policy makes strange bed-fellows) interested in supporting flexible and
"family-friendly" working arrangements.
The revised "instruction" states that OSHA will not conduct
inspections of employees’ home offices, it does not expect employers to
conduct such inspections, and it will not hold employers liable for employees’
home offices. Further, while OSHA may "informally" let an employer
know about home office-related complaints, it will not "follow-up"
with the employer or employee. However, OSHA was careful to reiterate that it
will conduct inspections of home manufacturing operations when it receives
notice of a violation that could lead to physical harm. Again, as stated in the
March, 2000 article, employers should steer clear of sending their employees
home with hazardous substances or asking them to do any work at home that might
be considered manufacturing.
This revised policy does not represent the complete retreat that some
legislators and employers had fought for – a revision of the regulations
indicating that OSHA has no jurisdiction at all over home-based worksites.
However, most employers who have flexible working arrangement policies in place
for their employees’ benefit can rest easy knowing OSHA is not going to
require that they follow their employees home to perform safety inspections.
For more information please contact Timothy Singhel at 1-888-688-8500 or at
tsinghel@hklaw.com.
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