Employment attorney Michael Neary was quoted in a recent The Daily Record article on “Remote work raises new legal issues for employers.”
In the article, Neary addresses several important topics that have come up with the rise of remote work:
“Traditional ways of keeping tabs on employees and making sure they are engaged go out the window when they are no longer in the office,” Neary said. “I think employers are learning ways to engage with folks that are remote and to make sure that they are setting appropriate goals for employees.”
Discrimination and retaliation claims have been on the rise recently because policies are not consistently applied, he said.
“So much of this remote working environment, for a lot of employers, is so new that they are struggling to have a consistent policy about how to deal with performance issues,” Neary said, explaining that employers can be vulnerable to employee claims of unfair treatment.
Wage and hour concerns are another issue for employers, as non-exempt employees are entitled to overtime pay if they work more than 40 hours a week.
“The ability to work 24/7 from home is problematic for employers when you are talking about non-exempt employees because the employers have to ensure they have adequate policies and procedures in place to make sure the employees get compensated for all the time they work,” Neary said, adding that many employers have instituted time-tracking policies and procedures.
You can read the full article here (paywall): https://thedailyrecord.com/2022/02/22/remote-work-raises-new-legal-issues-for-employers/.
Michael Neary is an employment attorney and commercial litigator who works with businesses to prevent and defend against employee claims. He also litigates commercial disputes such as real estate controversies, business fraud, corporate and partnership dissolutions, and commercial contract claims. For more information, contact him at 301-657-0740 or [email protected].