In the wake of COVID-19, many employers continue to offer remote work arrangements. Some employees are exclusively remote, while others have a hybrid arrangement consisting of both telework and in-person office time. As a result of this modern employment trend, multistate and remote work employers must ensure that their companies comply and keep up with an evolving variety of employment laws at every level – federal, state, and local. The application of most employment laws for remote-based employees generally focuses on where the employee is physically located and performs work.
Federal employment laws like the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Fair Labor Standards Act, etc., are baseline protections employers must follow. Some federal labor laws, such as the Fair Labor Standards Act, apply to almost all employers, regardless of size. However, other laws, such as the Family Medical Leave Act, only apply to employers that maintain a certain number of employees. It is important that employers be aware of federal labor laws that may apply to their company if they have a sizable workforce. Generally, the more employees an employer has, the more compliance obligations it will have under federal labor laws.
When states adopt laws on similar federal employment topics, such as wage and hour issues, those laws may only build upon the federal protections. As a result, some states have stricter employee protections than other states. As an example, the current federal minimum wage is $7.25 per hour. The federal minimum wage is a floor that employers cannot go below; thus, no employer nationwide can pay their employees less than the current federal minimum wage unless a certain exception applies (i.e., tipped employees). The minimum wage in Pennsylvania is $7.25 per hour, while the minimum wage in New York (at-large) is $15.00 per hour, for example. If a company is located in one state but the remote workers are located in other states, companies must generally pay that remote worker at least the minimum wage where that employee is physically located and performs work.
Not only must employers consider an employee’s state, but they also need to be aware of the counties and cities in which they are physically located and performing remote work. As an example, the minimum wage in certain New York counties and cities is higher than New York at-large, such as New York City, Nassau County, Suffolk County, and Westchester County. The minimum wage for New York City and those specific counties is $16.00 per hour. As one can see, federal and state laws are the baseline protections when it pertains to local level laws.
Minimum wage laws are not the only location-based employment laws employers must be mindful of. Other important employment laws that evolve over time and can differ from state to state, county to county, and city to city include overtime pay, sick leave, PTO, tax and payroll, sexual harassment training, criminal background checks, collection of biometric data, privacy protections, garnishment restrictions, wage deductions, worker classification, workers’ compensation, etc. Due to the variety of rights afforded to employees at every level (federal, state, and local), it is important for employers to understand which employment laws apply to each one of their employee’s workplace locations.
