On-site work versus work from home.

May 20, 2020

Many employers will want people physically working in the workplace for a variety of reasons but the reality is that some, when it is possible, should be allowed to work from home. Minimizing the number of people in the workplace is a primary goal of most state and local reopening guidelines. Check with state, local, CDC and OSHA guidance.

You may be obligated to offer a work from home accommodation depending upon an employee’s health, disability or age. In communication with your employees, state clearly the reasons why you want people back in the workplace. Instead of not mentioning a work from home option or offering it up as an option for everyone, make it clear that you or your HR department know there will be people with needs and challenges like child care and high-risk health issues and that they should contact you to discuss options.

Make sure your leadership team are all on the same page in terms of making accommodations so you do not send mixed signals or suggest that some people are being given unfair special preference. Some situations may seem intractable and difficult to resolve. You may have an employee who refuses to return to work. You want to avoid alienating or losing a good employee. And you want to avoid possibly opening yourself up to legal liability, so in these cases, it is best to get counsel about ways to resolve the situation amicably.