Do labor laws protect me when I work from home?
Am I entitled to be paid for all of my working time at home?
Does my employer have to reimburse me for work-related expenses when I work from home?
The answer to all of these questions is YES
When you work from home due to shelter-in-place restrictions, quarantine, or for any other reason, your employment rights still are protected by Federal and California Law
If you think your rights were violated while you worked from home, call us at 800-535-529
Your call will be free and confidential
When you work at home, you are entitled to the same protections as when you are working in an office or at your normal work location. Most employers will pay their employees appropriately, but some might try to underpay you for the hours you work or even try to push some of their expenses onto you.
Are you being paid for all of your time spent working at home? Are you being paid properly for overtime? Are you still getting your meal and rest breaks?
When you work from home, you still are entitled to be paid for all the time you spend working, including your time starting and shutting down your computer. If you are an hourly employee, your employer still is responsible for maintaining a record of your work hours. Typically, your employer must pay you overtime wages for any hours worked beyond eight in one day, beyond forty in one week, or any hours worked on a seventh consecutive day of work during a workweek. You also still are entitled to receive, and to be free to take, 30-minute meal periods and paid rest breaks.
Can my employer require me to do any work if I am on an unpaid furlough?
More and more employers are turning to unpaid furloughs in which groups of employees go on unpaid leave for weeks or even months. If you are on an unpaid furlough, you should not be performing any work. This applies to both hourly and salaried employees. Even simply responding to business emails can mean that your employer owes you pay. No pay means no free work for the company. Labor is not free.
What can you recover?
Among other remedies, you may be able to recover straight-time and overtime wages that you should have been paid. And for each day on which your employer does not provide you with, or permit you to take, either the required meal periods or your paid rest breaks, you may be entitled to an extra hour of pay for those violations.
Is it costing you money to work from home? Have you been reimbursed for your necessary expenses?
You already may know that California law requires your employer to reimburse you for any expenses you incur as part of your job. This means that if your employer directs you to do something that costs you money, like buying a computer or using your cell phone for work purposes, you are entitled to be reimbursed. Similarly, if you must spend money in order to do your job, such as when you have to drive your car for work purposes, you must be reimbursed.
If you are working at home, you are likely to incur additional expenses for which you are entitled to be reimbursed. Are you using your printer ink for work-related printing and copying? Are you using your home internet for work? Are you using your cell or home phone for work? Are you incurring postage costs for work? Have you bought computer hardware or software for work? Have you paid for other subscriptions or services for work? Those costs may be reimbursable, but many employees don’t know that and are not being paid what they are owed.
What can you recover?
If you win on your claim for reimbursement, you will be entitled to recover the costs that should have been reimbursed plus interest on the delayed payments.
Find out if you qualify to bring a California suitable seating case by filling out the form on this page for a FREE case evaluation. It’s absolutely free to find out, so act now!
This is a legal advertisement by Keller Grover LLP
Fill out the form on this page for a FREE case evaluation.
ATTORNEY ADVERTISING
The choice of a lawyer is an important decision and should not be based solely on advertisements.
Counsel responsible for this advertisement include Eric A. Grover at:
Keller Grover LLP
415-543-1305
PAID ATTORNEY ADVERTISEMENT: THIS WEB PAGE IS AN ADVERTISEMENT. The information contained herein is not legal advice. Any information you submit to Keller Grover LLP does not create an attorney-client relationship and may not be protected by attorney-client privilege. Do not use the form to submit time-sensitive information or information that you wish to keep confidential. Instead, please contact us directly regarding any such matters. All photos are of models and do not depict clients.
The foregoing is meant to be a general summary of the applicable law. Your specific case would depend upon the facts and circumstances applicable to you and your employer.