Millions of employees work during normal business hours from a home office with the support of computers, Internet, faxes, telephones, smartphones and tablets. That number increased dramatically due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and it is expected that many positions will remain remote/teleworking positions after the pandemic is over. Telecommuting has and will continue to raise special wage and hour considerations. Telecommuting also need not be an all or nothing proposition. Employers are experimenting with many different models for alternative work arrangements.
Telecommuting presents employers with an extra challenge of maintaining accurate records of an employee’s regular and overtime hours. Since the work of telecommuting employees is conducted substantially or completely outside of the traditional workplace, employers are faced with difficult monitoring problems. As a result of such obstacles, employers are typically forced to rely solely on the employees to maintain accurate records of the hours worked during a workweek. Although telecommuting may offer benefits in terms of flexibility and productivity, employers should be aware that the drawbacks may be significant where nonexempt workers are involved since the inability to maintain adequate and accurate records may place employers at a serious disadvantage in enforcement proceedings.
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