Reference no: EM133684182

In many countries, employers owe their employees a safe work environment. This can include the employer ensuring that employees are not exposed to reasonably foreseeable hazards created by at-home employment (i.e., remote work).

OSHA states,

In some circumstances, the exercise of reasonable diligence may necessitate an on-site examination of the working environment by the employer. Employers must take steps to reduce or eliminate any work-related safety or health problems they become aware of through on-site visits or other means. In the UK an employer would be expected to carry out a risk assessment of an employee's home working conditions before allowing them to work from home; a requirement of the Management of Health & Safety at Work Regulations 1999.

A risk assessment would ensure home working conditions are suitable for the type of work the employee does. In most cases, the logistics involved would prevent employers from assessing all their employee's homes. Instead, it's likely that individual workers might be required to self-certify that their homes are a suitable environment for work. This might be done after the home worker has followed the health and safety instructions provided by the employer. Employers could require pictures or other documentation to substantiate employees' certifications or statements. Or do we the opposite path and decide that employees are solely responsible for any work-from-home environments, removing employers (and therefore workers' compensation) from the equation? Or maybe neither approach is the best.

Questions:

Should OSHA publish an OSHA Standard requiring the employer to perform a risk assessment of the work-from-home or remote work environment? Why or why not?