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Remote work already was a growing trend before the COVID-19 pandemic, and that trend rapidly accelerated when the pandemic hit in early 2020. Even as conditions have improved and restrictions have been lifted, many employers and employees have found benefits in remote work, while others welcomed the return to in-person. A third group prefers a hybrid approach, blending remote and in-person working. But remote and hybrid work bring new legal and compliance challenges for in-house counsel.

For many organizations, labor and employment is the most highly regulated part of the business. Hiring practices, pay, absences, disabilities, employee insurance, and safety are just some of the employee-focused compliance issues that in-house counsel must monitor.

“These practices don’t go away just because an employee isn’t in a company facility,” Pueschel said. Fundamental legal compliance still must be met on a daily basis—even in a remote, hybrid or flexible work environment.

“These practices don’t go away just because an employee isn’t in a company facility.”

John Pueschel, Partner, Womble Bond Dickinson

At the same time, workers have come to expect flexibility, and a historically strong job market has given them leverage to make that expectation a standard function of doing business. A record 47 million people changed jobs in 2021, showing the intense pressure employers are under to maintain staffing levels.

The combination of a changing working environment and...

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