Remote work is still on the rise and a highly sought benefit for many employees. But doing it right can be a challenge. While no laws apply exclusively to remote workplaces, remote work still carries its own set of compliance risks. Take a look below to review compliance requirements, logistical considerations, and general guidelines as it relates to remote work.
Compliance Requirements
- Logging Hours and Preparing Paychecks: Make sure employees are accurately logging all of their time. When working from home, the boundaries between work and personal life can easily blur, which may lead to untracked “off-the-clock” work or even unpaid overtime.
- Minimum Wage: Employees must be paid at least the minimum wage of the state in which they physically perform their work—whether that’s a satellite office or their home. Additionally, some cities and counties set minimum wages higher than the state’s rate. As a general rule, when employment laws differ, you should follow the standard that is most favorable to the employee.
- Workplace Posters: The safest and simplest way to stay compliant with workplace posting requirements is to provide your remote employees with access to all required posters—either by mailing hard copies for them to display in their home workspace or by sending compliance posters electronically via email. If you have employees in multiple states, be sure each employee receives the required federal posters along with any state-specific posters applicable to their work location.
- FMLA Eligibility: Remote employees can be eligible for leave under the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) if they otherwise qualify and report to, receive assignments from, or are tied to a worksite with 50 or more employees within a 75-mile radius. Under FMLA regulations, the worksite for remote employees is defined as the location they report to, receive work assignments from, or consider their home base. For example, if a remote employee living in Frisco, TX reports to a headquarters in Portland, OR that has 65 employees within a 75-mile radius, that remote employee may be FMLA-eligible. However, if the Portland site has only 42 employees, they would not be eligible—regardless of how far the remote employee lives from the worksite. As remote work continues to grow in popularity, employers should ensure they understand how FMLA eligibility applies to remote staff.
- Verifying I-9s: The Form I-9 normally requires employers (or authorized representatives) to physically inspect an employee’s original documents in person. However, employers in good standing with E-Verify may use an alternative remote verification procedure. To use this option, employers must follow the USCIS steps for remote review, note on the Form I-9 that the alternative procedure was used, and keep clear copies of all documents presented. If the alternative procedure is offered at a particular hiring site, it must be offered to all employees there—though employers may choose to use it only for remote employees and complete in-person verification for onsite or hybrid staff. Importantly, this decision cannot be based on protected characteristics such as citizenship or national origin. Employers must still provide in-person verification for any employee who can’t or won’t participate in the remote process.
- Equipment: Be clear about how work-from-home expenses will be handled. If you don’t anticipate additional costs, state that upfront—otherwise employees may assume they can expense new office furniture or equipment. Still, consider whether remote work may lead to reasonable and necessary expenses. Several states require reimbursement, and covering such costs is often a best practice even when not legally mandated. Keep in mind that employees may also request equipment or furniture as a reasonable accommodation under the ADA. These requests should be evaluated like any other accommodation. For example, allowing an employee to take home an ergonomic office chair would likely not pose an undue hardship.
Logistical Considerations
- Creating a Remote Work Policy: A strong telecommuting policy should outline who is eligible to work remotely, how to request remote-work arrangements, expectations for productivity and security, work hours, communication requirements with managers or team members, office-related expenses, and rules regarding alcohol and drug use. For example, you might require employees to remain reachable by phone and messaging during their regular work hours, meet deadlines, and maintain client relationships as usual, and check in with their manager at the end of each day to report progress. Make sure employees also know whom to contact if they encounter technical issues while working from home.
- Leveraging Video Meetings, Chat Tools, and Digital Communication Platforms: The more apps employees need to use for collaboration, communication, and company updates, the easier it is for information to get lost. Try to limit the number of tools in use and standardize how they’re used. Requiring cameras to be on can boost engagement, but it may slow down older computers, so be flexible when needed. And remember that “Zoom fatigue” is real—constantly looking at a screen full of faces can be draining. Consider allowing employees to join some meetings by audio only or turn off their cameras when they’re feeling worn out.
- Terminating employees Remotely: For organizations that are not used to a remote setup, terminations can be especially challenging. Terminating someone over the computer screen can seem impersonal, almost disrespectful. Extra care should therefore be given to ensure that the termination meeting goes as smoothly as possible. You wouldn’t, for example, want to tell an employee they no longer have a job when there are (or may be) other people in the room where the employee is working.
Translating Culture to a remote environment
How do you translate in-person company culture to something equally vibrant online? While many processes require little adaptation to make them work virtually, it’s much harder to replicate the spontaneous interactions that take place in shared spaces and the connections that those interactions build. Likewise, company events that showcase your unique values and culture might feel harder to pull off through a computer screen. But it can be done! Here are a few tips:
- While the days of running into someone in the breakroom may be gone, you can recreate this experience virtually by creating a video conferencing room or messaging channel for people to pop in when they have some down time
- Use a software program that randomly pairs employees for short, virtual chats where they can get to know each other
- Reimagine your company’s rituals. Whether it be monthly happy hours, company milestone events, birthday celebrations, or listening sessions with the CEO, challenge yourself to adapt your company’s culture rituals to a remote setting, or even invent new ones
Contact the HR Experts at BCN Services
A well-structured remote-work strategy supports compliance, culture, and employee success. BCN can help you develop clear policies, update your handbook, and design guidelines that keep your remote teams aligned—no matter where they work. Let’s build a framework that works for your workforce. Learn more here.