Learn how to build a clear and complete work-from-home policy that is legally compliant.
During COVID businesses around the world adapted and instituted remote work for large portions of their workforce, many for the very first time. Post-COVID – many firms have decided to keep or are struggling to adjust to hybrid in-person and remote work schedules. As businesses adjust to the new normal where portions, if not all of their workforce will remain remote, they need to adopt policies to govern how and under what circumstances work can be performed in the home. Legally Compliant Work-From-Home Policies will provide you with an overview and what to include as part of a remote work policy. The program will cover what issues to consider and how best to implement a written policy that protects the interests of your business while capitalizing on the flexibility afforded to remote workers. We will review the elemental parts to include in any remote policy and identify 5 traps for the unwary when drafting a policy. Lawyers and HR professionals will gain important insights and how to address the ever-evolving way in which we work. Please join us and add a useful tool to your repertoire in how to manage the modern workplace.
Learning Objectives
- You will be able to discuss remote work policies.
- You will be able to explain the elements of a remote work policy.
- You will be able to review potential wage and hour issues.
- You will be able to identify multistate liability issues.
Agenda
Overview: Are Remote Work Policies Here to Stay?
- Is There a Need for a Remote Work Policy?
- What Is a Remote Work Policy?
- What Belongs in a Remote Work Policy?
Elements of a Remote Work Policy
- Performance and Productivity
- Scheduling and Communication
- Security and Privacy
- Workers’ Compensation
- Remote Work Acknowledgment and Policy Changes
5 Risks for the Unwary
- Wage and Hour Issues-What About Overtime?
- Ada-Remote Work as a Disability Accommodation
- Multistate Liability - Whose Law Applies?
- Workers’ Compensation - Injuries in the Home
- Anti-Discrimination Obligations - Who Gets to Work From Home?
Questions
Speakers
Walter M. Foster, Esq.,
Eckert Seamans Cherin & Mellott, LLC- Partner in the office of Eckert Seamans Cherin & Mellot, LLC in Boston, MA
- Practice emphasizes all aspects of employment law, business litigation, municipal law, and pension law
- Media coverage includes “Improved Equal Pay Law Bans Employers from Asking about Wage History,” WBUR Radio Boston (NPR), July 2018; “Lawmakers Help Ex-Logan Manager Revive 9/11 Disability Claim,” State House News Service, Boston, MA September 2018; “SJC Rules Ex-teacher Guilty in Child Porn Case Can Keep Pension,” The Boston Herald, August 2014
- Speaking Engagements include: “Dartmouth College’s Future of Work Symposium: Design your Life” moderator, January 2019; “What Can I Ask During the Interview? Do’s and Don’t’s Under the Massachusettes Equal Pay Act,” Boston, May 2, 2018; Business Forum Practical HR Solutions, presented by the Middlesex Chamber of Commerce, May 31, 2017; “Employment Law Updates: Joint Employer, Non-Competes and the Rising Toll of Harassment Claims,” 2016 Annual Meeting of the Massachusetts Defense Lawyer Association, May 2016; “Conducting Workplace Investigations,” co-presented with Jean Heartl of Safety and Respect at Work, October 2015, October 2016, October 2017 and October 2018
- Conducts regular seminars and workshops to assist business clients in designing policies that promote a professional work environment compliant with state and federal laws, as well as helping to reduce or prevent the incidence of disruptive employment-related claims including three-day seminar on how to conduct workplace investigations
- Presented workshops for national based organizations on proper internal investigation claims
- J.D. degree, Columbia University School of Law; B.A. degree, cum laude, Dartmouth College
- Can be contacted at wfoster@eckertseamans.com or 617-342-6853
Trevin C. Schmidt,
Eckert Seamans Cherin & Mellott, LLC- Associate of Eckert Seamans Cherin & Mellott, LLC in the firm’s Boston, MA office
- Specialization in Labor & Employment and Commercial Litigation matters
- Multi-state admissions including MA, CT, ME, and NY
- Practice emphasizes complex civil ligation matters spanning business, commercial, insurance coverage, and employment disputes in state and federal trial and appellate courts, administrative proceedings, and arbitration and mediation
- Routinely appears in state and federal courts in MA, CT, ME, and NY
- Obtained multiple case dismissals and appellate victories on behalf of clients, as well as favorable resolutions following persuasive case defenses
Who Should Attend
This live webinar is designed for human resource professionals, business owners and managers, benefits and payroll professionals, operations managers, presidents, vice presidents, supervisors, managers, controllers, accountants, and attorneys.
