Telecommuting is becoming a popular option for many companies because it offers benefits to both employers and employees. Between March 4 and 8, 2013, more employees will be doing their work from home or another remote location, as 134,749 people have pledged to participate in the third annual Telework Week event through the Mobile Work Exchange.

By not commuting to central offices, these individual are expected to save 12,697,527 pounds of pollutants from emissions and save $12,214,889 in gas costs, the Mobile work Exchange estimates. This is an effective way to cut back on a company's carbon footprint and also save operational expenses, but it also challenges employers to find methods for accurately tracking employees' time and attendance out of the office.

This may not be an issue if staff members are not covered by the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) overtime and minimum provisions under one of the following exemptions for:

- Executives
- Administrative employees
- Learned professionals
- Computer employees
- Outside sales workers
- Highly compensated positions

That being said, those titles are not as clear-cut as they may at first seem. Human resources teams must verify that employees meet all requirements that are outlined in the FLSA.

If companies are allowing all staff members (including hourly employees) to work from home in support of Telework Week or other events, they can provide mobile timeclock applications, telephone login plans or online solutions that allow workers to clock in and out of shifts remotely.

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