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Telecommuting and the Virtual Workplace

By Linda Hollinshead and Christopher Durham
June 21, 2010

iPhones, BlackBerries, Wi-Fi hot-spots and wireless networking have made the “virtual workplace” a reality. For many employers, advances in technology increase employee availability and productivity during nontraditional work hours. For employees, being able to work from home creates better work-life balance. In a recent survey, 81% of respondents stated they would take advantage of the ability to telecommute from home, if the option was made available to them. (Workplace Options Inc.) Does that mean that the flexibility of a “virtual workplace” is always an attractive option for employers? Not necessarily. The virtual workplace and telecommuting arrangements create a number of potential pitfalls for employers that do not follow the “traditional” workplace model. When employers have employees who do not “power off” their BlackBerries and leave work at work, there are a number of important issues they must consider to manage the virtual workplace.

Limit Access to the Virtual Workplace

When the CFO checks e-mail messages on her BlackBerry and makes a few work-related phone calls from home, this is simply part of her job (and, few would dispute, a necessary one). This is because exempt employees (those who perform exempt responsibilities under both federal and state law) are paid a mandatory guaranteed minimum salary for all hours worked in a workweek, regardless of where or when those hours are worked.

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