Teleworking means working outside of the traditional office, whether at home or in another remote location, using modern technology like home computers, laptops, or cellphones. Teleworking is also called telecommuting or working-from-home.

Workers do not have a right to work from home, so you could be fired for insisting on working from home. 

Generally, whether or not you are eligible to telework/work from home is up to your employer. However, if you have a disability according to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), your employer may be required to allow you to work from home if you are able to complete your essential job functions at home. See the guideance from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission for more information.

Being immunocompromised means that your immune system’s defenses are low, hurting its ability to defend against disease and infection, including COVID-19. Factors such asautoimmune diseases (e.g., lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, and Type 1 diabetes), your age, and a history of smoking could increase the chance of infection. Additionally, treatments for diseases like cancer and organ/bone marrow transplants can also weaken the immune system.

If you are immuno-compromised or have an autoimmune disease, you may be entitled to work from home under the reasonable accommodation requirement of the Americans with Disabilities Act unless such accommodation would cause an undue hardship on the employer. 

The ADA defines a disability as a “physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities.” Many autoimmune conditions meet this definition, especially if they cause symptoms like chronic pain, fatigue, mobility issues and/or cognitive impairments that interfere with an employee’s ability to perform their job.

If you are paid hourly, your employer is only required to pay you for your time worked. If your employer bars employees from working at their current place of business and you cannot work from home, your employer is not required to pay you if you do not work. Generally, salaried employees must receive their full salary in any week in which they perform any work, subject to certain very limited exceptions. If your wage is not specified in your employment contract, employers can generally change employees’ wages at their discretion, as long as they are paying the local minimum wage.

If you are working from home as a reasonable accommodation provided by your employer based on a disability under the American Disabilities Act (ADA), your employer likely must pay the same hourly rate or salary.

If you are concerned about wage and hour issues, learn more on our Wage and Hour pages.

Yes. An employer may encourage or require employees to telework as an infection-control or prevention strategy, including based on timely information from public health authorities about pandemics, public health emergencies, or other similar conditions. Telework also may be a reasonable accommodation for disabled employees.

Of course, employers must not single out employees either to telework or to continue reporting to the workplace on a basis prohibited by any of the EEO laws. (See the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s publication, Work at Home/Telework as a Reasonable Accommodation, for additional information.)

During work hours, employers have broad rights to surveille employers, especially if the employee is using the employer’s equipment or network. That means employers can monitor the web pages you visit, what you type, all of your files, and your work emails. The employer may even be able to monitor your personal emails if you are on the employer’s equipment or network. They can also monitor your social media presence while you are working.

There are some limits to employers’ power to monitor employees. Employers cannot tape employees in bathrooms or break rooms, though what that means in the work-from-home context is unclear. 

There is more information about your privacy rights at work on our Privacy and Surveillance page.

The Fair Labor Standards Act does not require employers to reimburse workers for equipment used during telework unless the expenses would push a worker’s earnings below minimum wage. Some states may require  employers to reimburse employees for work-from-home equipment. Otherwise, it is up to your employer whether they will reimburse you for equipment purchased to facilitate telework.

Yes, your supervisor can require you to stay online, on an instant messenger, or generally in contact with them during your work hours.

Your employer can use a variety of ways to track your progress and supervise you while you are teleworking. If you are using your employer’s equipment or network, your supervisor is allowed to monitor almost everything you are doing using that equipment or network. Even if you are using your own equipment, many employers are requiring employees to download employee monitoring software on their computers that track your productivity while you are working remotely.

There is more information about your privacy rights while working on our Privacy and Surveillance page.

Employers cannot control employees’ personal time, even if they recommend against traveling to certain locations or regions. However, employers may require you to provide evidence that you are not contagious before you are able to return to in-person work.

According to the Department of Labor, employers are allowed to require a doctor’s note to return to in-person work after teleworking or working from home. However, the Department of Labor encourages employers to consider new approaches to ensuring employee health, including relying on local clinics, or email to ensure that busy medical professionals are able to certify that individuals do not have the pandemic virus.

Yes, you are likely covered. In general, all employees’ injuries or illnesses that arise out of and in the course of employment are covered by worker’s compensation, wherever the injury occurs. Injuries that occur on break time from work are also covered by workers’ compensation even if working at home.

For more information about filing for workers’ compensation, click here.