DOL issues guidance on tracking, compensating telework

The COVID-19 global pandemic has forced some employees to increase their hours spent teleworking and has required other workers to fulfill their job duties from home for the first time in their careers. This "remote workplace" paradigm shift has created new difficulties for employers seeking to comply with the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

What are employer's obligations?

Under the FLSA, employers are obligated to track the number of hours of compensable work performed by employees who are teleworking or otherwise working remotely away from any worksite or premises controlled by their employers. Because of the nationwide surge in teleworking arrangements, employers are increasingly facing the question of what their obligations are to track hours actually worked for which an employee wasn't scheduled.

In response to employers' growing concerns about their ability to comply with the FLSA, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) recently issued a field assistance bulletin to provide guidance on the obligation to track employees' compensable work.

DOL's guidance on employers' obligations to pay hourly, nonexempt employees when they are teleworking largely mirrors your requirements to pay workers who are toiling in a physical workplace. For instance, you must pay employees for all hours worked, including work not requested but suffered or permitted, even when it's performed at home.