A growing number of employers are allowing employees to work on their own devices whether at home or in the office. While this can save on equipment costs and boost worker productivity in some cases, this can also leave employers at risk of both security breaches and Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) violations.

In the United States, 75 percent of companies allow workers to use their own devices for work-related activities, according to a Trend Micro Consumerization Report in 2011. Employers may reap the benefits when employees use mobile devices, such as smartphones, tablets and laptops to answer emails and work on presentations during off hours. However, if workers are not exempt from rights to overtime, employers may be held liable for labor law violations.

Companies can prevent security breaches and FLSA violations by establishing clear-cut policies for employee use. Employers can educate employees about weaknesses that could leave sensitive company information vulnerable to breach, and also develop guidelines for after hours employee attendance.

If non-exempt employees are provided mobile devices for work or allowed to use them for job-related tasks, employers can require them to record hours worked on a mobile timeclock app so the hours are accurately counted toward payroll. 

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