January 28, 2007

A possibly more accurate headline on this National Law Journal article from last month would have been, "Class-Action Lawyers Are Reaching Out to Sue Employers on Behalf of Telecommuters". And for many of the putative beneficiaries,the consequences are apt to be unpleasant: some employers will curtail their use of telecommuters, while others will insist on legally defensive paperwork and work rules which add dreariness to the job, such as those suggested by a lawyer with one leading employment-defense firm:

Companies can minimize the risk of legal disputes with work-at-home employees by inking formal agreements about the work and hours, said Mark Batten, a Boston lawyer for New York-based Proskauer Rose.

Batten, a defense attorney, also recommends timesheets, a written policy banning overtime without prior approval and rules requiring employees to monitor and record work-related activities such [as] logging on or off a computer. ...

"Just allowing employees to work at home without an understanding about how much time is actually needed for work will get the employer in trouble," Batten said.