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maddmask
member
HELP! Anybody in HR on Today/ Question About Telecommuting
maddmask
member
Since I've had my baby, the supervisors have been letting me work from home. BUT today I had a meeting with an HR person from our head organization and she told me that because I was hourly, the law says I cannot work from home. This surprised me especially with so much more push these days to encourage telecommuting.
In any event, I'm looking online and it looks like hourly, exempt workers CAN work from home if the employer is OK with it but I'm having a hard time putting my finger on federal (or state, if that applies --I live and work for a division in Maryland, the overall hiring organization is Virginia) site rather than a third-party report.
She's new and I have a feeling she is still not right about alot of things as she was also trying to tell me that FMLA applied to me even though I worked only 20 hours a week before having my baby.
Long post, but I really appreciate any help. THANKS!!!
This discussion has been closed.
Re: HELP! Anybody in HR on Today/ Question About Telecommuting
I know they are not REQUIRED to let me work from home but supervisors are all very supportive of this. In fact, it was my immediate supervisors idea to let me work from home for several months. The HR lady told him he wasn't allowed to do that for legal reason -- nothing to do with company policy or anything like that.
I am a Compensation Analyst so I am familiar with FLSA (fair labor standards act). I am not aware of any law that states a non-exempt/hourly employee can't work from home. I checked on the DOL website and saw nothing in reference to this. The only thing about working from home is that all time worked should be recorded.
If you want to call to confirm and see if there is some state law then below is contact information:
The Wage and Hour Division is available to assist. For more information regarding the FLSA, visit the WHD Web site at www.wagehour.dol.gov or call our toll-free help line, available 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. eastern time, at 1-866-4US-WAGE (1-866-487-9243)
Question - Are you working and taking care of your child at the same time or do you have a nanny/mother's help or someone there watching the child while you work?
I am generally working when my husband (or somebody) is home to take care of the baby. From time to time, I have worked after she's gone down for the night so even though it's just me home, I am not taking care of her and working at the same time.
I know some companies have telecommuting agreements that state you have to provide DC for your child during work hours. I was just wondering if they were concerned that you weren't working and taking care of LO. Did you ever sign a telecommuting agreement?
Apparently some places do have local ordinances against telecommuting due to zoning laws and tax issues. It may not be on a federal or state level, it could be at the county or city level.
I'm an employment lawyer in California, so I'm not familiar with Maryland's laws, but there are certainly no federal laws that prohibit a non-exempt employee from telecommuting. Although it is unlikely, it is possible that there could be a state law that addresses this. You should contact your state labor department and ask them.
That said, as one of the other posters mentioned, employers are definitely not required to allow you to work from home. So if your employer says you can't do it for whatever reason, I wouldn't push back on this too much.