legalandpolicyconsiderationsintelework.docVIP

Legal and Policy Considerations in Telework C. W. Von Bergen, William (Will) T. Mawer, and Edward Hobbs (sequence of authorship has not been decided) Southeastern Oklahoma State UniversityLegal and Policy Considerations in Telework Abstract More and more employees are working outside of traditional on-site work environments in locations tied electronically to a central office. This telework or telecommuting practice has become an increasingly important employment tool, fulfilling key business needs while helping employees balance their work and personal commitments. Using the flexibility to work in a location other than ones official duty station when it is effective to do so is clearly the wave of the future, and for many employees and organizations the future is clearly here. As this telework trend grows, legal and policy issues surrounding this popular working arrangement have multiplied. This paper examines a number of key legal and policy factors employers should review before implementing telecommuting. Legal and Policy Considerations in Telework A teleworker, working on a company laptop in hisliving room, takes a coffee break and goes to the kitchen to make a peanut-butter sandwich. On his way back to the work area, he trips and injures his head on the laptop. Who is responsible for the injury? While this may be a far-fetched scenario, in the real world of telework or telecommuting (the terms are used interchangeably) wacky things occur, and it would behoove organizations to consider adequately a number of issues before they hand their workers a laptop computer and a password to access the corporate network off-premises. This paper addresses legal and policy matters surrounding telework. It begins with a discussion of telework and its popularity, where telework occurs, key legal factors in telecommuting, and concludes with telecommuting policy considerations. Introduction Over the years, a variety of work structures have emerged and been considered