A recent troubling experience led me to thoughts about telecommuting, workers’ comp and how employers can protect themselves against unnecessary claims.

The short version of my sad tale is this: Living in Florida (sorry northeasterners!), brings with it concerns about critters – especially the quiet, slithery ones. I recently opened the door of my screened patio (also my office) only to see a rather large snake. Before I could slam the door, Sandy Snake started making his way into MY space. NOT good! In my snake-phobic panic, I tried to slam the door, only to catch Sandy as he started to make his way into my territory. I quickly closed the sliders into the living room, ran screaming through the house and out the front door, which, of course, attracted the attention of several neighbors who assumed I was having some sort of medical emergency.

Through my screams and hyperventilating, I managed to explain the situation. They and several others checked and rechecked the porch until we were all convinced Sandy had slithered his way back into the bushes. (I set up temporary quarters in the living room for several days – just to be on the safe side.)

One of the neighbors asked if I had a heart condition. This got me thinking about the possibility that I, or someone in a similar situation, could have actually had a heart attack from the sheer fright of seeing such a critter in my work space, and whether it might be compensable under workers’ comp. In my case, it would not have been, since I operate as a sole proprietor. But for an employee of a company, it could very well have been covered. It got me thinking, how an employer with telecommuters could guard against such a claim.

Telecommuting is not new, but it is becoming more of a big deal. In fact, many business prognosticators say it will become much more widespread, with some even calling 2015 the year of telecommuting. There are a variety of reasons, such as technological advancements that easily allow remote work, the cost savings to both employers and employees, and the fact that it’s a strong desire of millennials – those young ‘uns coming into the workforce who are said to be the answer to who’ll replace us aging baby boomers. Something about having a better work-life balance. Whatever.

Despite hesitations by some companies (think Yahoo and Google in 2013), many companies – especially smaller ones, are finding telecommuting to be a win-win.

So how does that work? How does an employer control a home-based work environment and avoid compensable injuries and illnesses?

To be compensable, of course, the injury/illness must arise out of and in the course of employment. To my non-legal mind, this basically means there must be some causal connection between the conditions under which the employee worked and the injury he sustained.

But remote work presents many gray areas. The worker who tripped on her way downstairs to her home office after grabbing a cup of coffee during a break, for example, could very likely be covered. There was a case several years ago of a woman who sought benefits after being attacked in her kitchen by a neighbor. And who can forget the case involving the New Jersey woman who died of a pulmonary embolism after spending the night tied to her computer finishing work for her employer?

Such scenarios may give employers pause to implement a telecommuting program. Yet, the benefits can outweigh the risks.

When the telecommuting craze really hit several years ago, there were predictions that a plethora of workers’ comp claims would soon follow. Such was not the case. Seems telecommuters are a strange breed. They tend to be less prone to illness/injuries. Studies have shown they are often more productive than their colleagues in the office or at the worksite. If anything, they are a group that tends to be overly productive.

But telecommuting is not right for every employer – nor for every employee. Companies thinking about implementing or expanding their telecommuting programs would be wise to take a hard look first. Clearly, they should work with HR, their carrier, TPA, attorney and anyone else whose input they value.

While nothing can guarantee there will be no workers’ comp claims from remote workers, there are several steps employers can take to mitigate the situation. Here are a few:

• Create a written policy that outlines the employer’s expectations for remote workers and put it in the employee handbook. Before an employee begins working from home, carefully go over the policy and have the employee sign off on it.
• Choose candidates wisely. While you may really want to get that idiot with the entitlement attitude out of your hair, he’s not the one to consider. Limit telecommuting to people who work well with limited supervision, are trustworthy and want to do a good job for the company. In short, those who won’t screw you just because they can.
• Provide a detailed job description that specifies the exact nature of the employee’s duties – to reduce the risk of having the worker seek benefits for an injury arising from a nonwork-related activity.
• Specify the designated work area. Make it a condition of telecommuting to check out the home office area before any agreement is made. Confine the work area to a specific site in the home to mitigate against claims that occur in other areas of the house. Also, stipulate at least one onsite visit after the agreement is made, to ensure the area is safe and ergonomically correct.
• Provide training related to workstation setup and safety measures, including ergonomics.
• Specify work times/days, and insist on periodic rest breaks (might have made a difference in the case of the New Jersey woman).
• If possible, monitor the worker’s tasks. If you provide a company-owned computer, consider using task-monitoring software that allows you to see the employee’s computer activities, or when the computer is idle.
• Make it clear telecommuting is a privilege and can be revoked at your discretion.
• If there is an injury/illness, make sure the employee knows to report it immediately. Then, do a thorough investigation just as you would for one that occurs on work premises. Interview the person, ask revealing questions – when, how, why, etc., etc.

Just think – if you get a program set up for people working out of their homes now, you’ll be well-positioned in a few years when they start working from their self-driving cars.