Which laws apply to my out-of-state remote employees?

While an increasing number of employers are requiring their remote employees to return to the office, it’s safe to assume that some employees may continue to work remotely. For their employers, it’s important to remember that many employment laws are state-based and may vary by jurisdiction. Examples of employment issues that can be controlled by a state’s or city’s laws include income taxes, leave or paid leave, workers’ compensation, substance testing, marijuana or medical marijuana, and unemployment benefits. 

If you have employees working remotely out of state, which laws apply to those remote workers—the laws where they work or the laws where the employer is located? What if an employee works both remotely and on-site? As a recent Minnesota federal court case demonstrates, the answer isn’t always cut and dried. 

Remote employee fired

Jan Kuklenski began working for Medtronic USA, Inc., a Minnesota-based medical device company, in 1999. Although she never lived in Minnesota, she occasionally traveled to the state for work. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Medtronic directed all employees to work remotely, and she didn’t travel to Minnesota for work any time after February 2020.