HealthPlanMarkets recently featured a Workforce Bulletin blog post titled “U.S. DOL Provides Guidance on Employers’ Obligation to Compensate Remote Workers,” in their newsletter, “An Inside Report on Markets and Strategy.” The blog post was authored by Maxine Neuhauser, Member of the Firm in the Employment, Labor & Workforce Management practice, in the firm’s Newark office.
Following is an excerpt:
EBG: Telehealth Workers Are Employees
The Department of Labor quietly published guidance regarding employers’ obligation “to exercise reasonable diligence” in tracking teleworking employee hours. An Epstein Becker Green analysis in National Law Review warns “Telehealth workers still fall under federal employment rules even under the pandemic” including in health plans with newly-formed provider networks. “In other words, when an employer knows or has reason to believe work is being performed, the time must be counted as hours worked – even if the employer did not expressly request it.”