Work-from-home policies can reduce costs, but increase FLSA violations
Given advances in mobile technology, more businesses are breaking out of traditional office spaces and allowing their employees to telecommute. Many jobs can be performed remotely on laptops and meetings held via phone calls or video conferences.
This trend seems like a winning combination for companies - employees are happy because they can work from environments in which they are most productive or don't have to fight traffic to get to the office, and studies have found that telecommuting cuts operational expenses and boosts productivity.
However, a new study by The University of Texas at Austin found that the extra work employees do from home could leave employers vulnerable to Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) violations and litigation over employee lawsuits. The report revealed 30 percent of staff members who worked from home tacked five to seven additional hours onto their 40 hour workweeks.
If those employees are exempt from the FLSA overtime provisions, this may not be as problematic. Covered employees, on the other hand, must receive time-and-a-half for any time and attendance beyond 40 hours in a single week. To measure the amount of time workers are spending on tasks when they're not in the office, employers can supply them with remote timekeeping devices such as timeclock applications for their mobile devices.
This trend seems like a winning combination for companies - employees are happy because they can work from environments in which they are most productive or don't have to fight traffic to get to the office, and studies have found that telecommuting cuts operational expenses and boosts productivity.
However, a new study by The University of Texas at Austin found that the extra work employees do from home could leave employers vulnerable to Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) violations and litigation over employee lawsuits. The report revealed 30 percent of staff members who worked from home tacked five to seven additional hours onto their 40 hour workweeks.
If those employees are exempt from the FLSA overtime provisions, this may not be as problematic. Covered employees, on the other hand, must receive time-and-a-half for any time and attendance beyond 40 hours in a single week. To measure the amount of time workers are spending on tasks when they're not in the office, employers can supply them with remote timekeeping devices such as timeclock applications for their mobile devices.
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