News and Updates
Category: Remote Work
Ohio’s HB 447 Clarifies Work-From-Home Comp Claims
House Bill 447 would set specific criteria that must be met by the claimant when a workers’ comp claim is filed by a remote worker. If passed, all three of the following requirements must be met by the claimant: the injury must arise out of their employment, caused by a special hazard of their employment, and be sustained in the course of an activity performed exclusively to the benefit of the employer. All of these conditions must be met for the claim to be considered compensable. The current law doesn’t truly differentiate between injuries sustained at the employer worksite from injuries sustained while working from home, which isn’t effective considering 30% of Ohio’s workforce is now remote. If passed by Ohio’s Senate, the bill will help prevent frivolous claims from remote employees, like this Florida claims adjuster who tripped over her dog while reaching for coffee. This bill seems to be interpreted differently depending on which side of the fence you’re on. Labor relations advocates feel it will prevent employees from filing a claim if they’ve suffered a work-related injury as a remote worker. You have to read HB 447 in its entirety to see that’s simply not the case. This will still allow for valid, genuinely work-related claims to be filed and compensated – provided the same criteria are met as would be required for an employer worksite injury. Most importantly, this bill spells out what will not be co
Risk Management for Work-From-Home Employees
We all know that workplace safety is important – but not much thought is given to those who have moved to teleworking during the COVID-19 pandemic. Many companies have found that moving to teleworking worked so well for them, that they have not insisted on people returning to the office full time. You can’t realistically go to every employee’s home and inspect their home office set up, but you can provide some helpful guidelines that should reduce the likelihood of work-related injuries at home. • Seated desks should be about 29” high. For standing desks, use elbows as a guide for desk height, as it varies from person to person. • The top of your monitor should be at eye level, and about 20-25” from your face. • Try positioning yourself in an area of neutral natural light. A window behind the worker will create a glare on the screen, and a window behind their monitors can make the screen equally difficult to read – and both can lead to eye strain and headaches. • Chances are they don’t have a proper (ergonomically correct) desk chair at home, so they should be able to rest their back against the chair back and their feet on the floor. The employer can choose to provide ergonomic supports for any shortcomings, but the employee can usually do this at home with a phone book under the feet or a rolled t
