At the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic, employers transitioned millions of employees to remote work. In many industries, the transition back to the office has been slow or nonexistent, drastically reducing the number of American workers who physically report to a jobsite or office each day to perform their jobs. Remote work implicates a broad spectrum of employment law issues, prompting the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division to issue recent guidance about how to accurately track non-exempt, remote employees’ worktime and how to determine remote employees’ worksite for purposes of Family and Medical Leave Act eligibility.

Tracking Worktime

The DOL’s bulletin first addresses teleworking under the Fair Labor Standards Act and emphasizes the employer’s obligation to pay nonexempt (hourly) employees for all the time they work each day. This includes compensation for breaks that last up to twenty minutes. The DOL explained that “such short breaks primarily benefit the employer by reducing employee fatigue and helping employees maintain focus and be more productive at work.” Office employees typically spend such breaks using the restroom, making a coffee, eating a snack, taking a personal call, or catching up with coworkers. For remote employees, these breaks may be spent on various types of personal or household tasks such as starting or folding laundry, unloading the dishwasher, walking the dog, or beginning dinner. Businesses that track their remote employees’...

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