Among other things, I follow news of workplace injuries. Lately, there have been some new cases that present some new trends.
There was the woman who telecommuted from home. Her workplace was an office in the garage. One day, on her way from the house to the garage, she tripped over her dog. I forget the injury, but it was apparently worth going to court over. The employer said—in other words—“Oh, come on. This was her dog in her house, how can we be responsible?” The court disagreed. The employer knew that she had her office in the garage, and walking from home to garage involved all the risks therin.
In another case, a woman working from home had a fatal heart attack. The court ruled that AT&T, the employer, knew that she was working beyond her normal hours, and that too many hours at a sedentary job is a heart attack risk. The woman’s obesity was not relevant.
The lesson of these two cases—and of others sure to come—is that employers are responsible for remote workplaces. They may need to visit the homes of telecommuters to ensure a safe workplace, and to monitor employee activity to see that they get up and walk around periodically. Or else, get out of the telecommuting business altogether. Or—and I think this is most probable—businesses will seek legislation indemnifying them against employees who are injured at home.
Another pair of cases are so similar, I don’t have to tell the separate stories. Employers hired undocumented immigrants. Of course they claimed that they did the due diligence and the employees appeared legal. The employer did not provide safety equipment or training. When the workers were disabled or killed on the job, the employer said, “I don’t have to pay because they were illegal.” The court said—and I completely agree—the legal status of the workers is a separate issue, and irrelevant to the OSHA violations and Worker's Comp responsibility. To decide differently would be to reward the employer for hiring undocumented workers.
The moral, as I see it, is that there will always be employers who will look for cheaper operating costs without taking responsibility for the consequences, whether its saving office space by letting people work from home, or by hiring people who won’t question the work rules. Cutting government oversight will make us no better than Chinese or Indian employers.
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