Legal pitfalls of managing remote workers

With advancements in technology and unforeseen events in recent years, remote working has become a viable alternative for many companies. Employees are now increasingly working from home or at least on a hybrid basis.

This has its benefits, such as workers being able to strike a better work/family balance, but there are also drawbacks. As a business owner, there are several pitfalls of managing remote workers that you should be aware of.

Outlined below are some important things to consider.

Monitoring working hours

The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLCA) governs how long employees can work for each week without receiving overtime. Generally, this is 40 hours per week.

That means that if your workers are being paid by the hour, you need to keep tabs on the number of hours they are working. This is much harder to do when they work from home rather than on-site.

Ensuring employees remain visible

Your company takes every precaution to keep the working environment free from hostility and discrimination. Everyone has access to training and opportunities. While this is something you can oversee on-site, it becomes tricky when you have remote workers.

Remote workers can become estranged, which means that they may not be granted the same training, opportunities and support as on-site employees. All of this could result in a discrimination lawsuit.

Data breaches

Most companies deal with at least some form of sensitive information. For instance, even the banking information of your clients is sensitive. If physical documentation is being removed from the company site, this must be done securely. Employees may need access to secure company emails, so systems to guard information must be established that keep data out of the wrong hands.

These are just some of the key things to consider when managing remote workers. We help businesses looking to establish safe policies for remote workers. Contact us for a consultation to discuss your options in more detail.