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Intellectual Property and Technology: Alert - November 17, 2009

Governor Patrick’s Office of Consumer Af¬fairs and Business Regulation announced on November 4, 2009, that it has filed the final Massachusetts ID Theft Regulation, also known as 201 CMR 17:00. The goal of Regulation 201 is to help combat the loss of personal information; the most significant change is a require¬ment that covered entities amend existing agreements that they have with third-party service providers to include language requiring these providers to implement and main¬tain “appropriate” security measures for the protection of personal information.

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Labor, Employment and Benefits: Alert - November 10, 2009

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Labor, Employment and Benefits
Newsletter - May 2000
 
In this Issue...
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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