The U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) Wage and Hour Division (WHD) recently published guidance addressing employer obligations to track employee hours while teleworking. Even though the guidance is being issued in part because of the increase in teleworking arrangements during the COVID-19 crisis, the agency emphasized it applies to all telework or remote work arrangements, not just those caused by the pandemic.
Legal Standard
Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), employers must pay an employee for all “hours worked.” The hours include any time she spent that was “suffered or permitted” by the employer, even if it wasn’t requested or authorized.
