Wage and Hour Practice Co-Chair Damien Delaney was featured in a Law360 article discussing the many intricacies surrounding the monitoring of remote employees. While remote tracking of workers' time is not a new phenomenon, as work-from-home arrangements are here to stay, employers need to be mindful of how they are using such information to avoid misclassification missteps and pay violations, among other risks. With its flexible-scheduling perks, remote work challenges typical notions of the workday and hours worked, and employers may view electronic monitoring as a way to keep tabs on their work-from-home staff.
"Employers need to understand that when they are tracking, they are also "acquiring awareness" about their employees' work time, which may be used to measure performance but could nevertheless wind up in litigation," said DeLaney.