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by Gail
Martin
Two years ago, a company requested assistance from OSHA to define their responsibilities to home based employees, i.e. teleworkers. In November 1999, OSHA responded with a five-page letter that addressed the five questions that were asked and included other generic regulations.
The uproar that followed showed the folly of interpreting smokestack, manufacturing type rules to the digital age. First of all, no one, repeat no one, wants an unsafe or unhealthy work environment. With the U.S. unemployment rate below 5 percent and in some areas of the country at 1.5 percent, every worker has become a precious commodity, especially those with computer skills. Also keep in mind information and knowledge exchanges have become the new factories.
OSHA stated their inspection program is "directed primarily toward industrial and commercial establishments and construction sites" and that they do not ordinarily conduct inspections of private homes unless there are reports of sweatshop type working conditions, particularly in the garment industry, or there is a work-related fatality.
Where the controversy arose was over their statements surrounding the responsibilities of the employer toward preventing or correcting hazards to which employees may be exposed in the course of their work and used as an example the safety of stairs leading to a basement office or workplace. They stated, "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."
This interpretation had ominous overtones that could cross the line into invasion of privacy. Where then should the line be drawn?
ITAC has two answers….education and training. ITAC has convened a Blue Ribbon Panel composed of subject matter experts from the government, industry, academia, and individual teleworkers that is developing "Recommended Telework Practices". Incorporated within these practices are requirements for successful formal telework programs. Education and training are the most important deterrents to unhealthy, unsafe workplaces/spaces and work habits. The very term "laptop" should not be considered ergonomically incorrect.
The rest of the story:
On January 27 in testimony prepared for hearings before the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions' subcommittee on employment, safety, and training that had been cancelled due to a blizzard, assistant secretary of labor, Charles Jeffress stated, "We believe that the OSH Act does not apply to an employee's house or furnishings. OSHA will not hold employers liable for work activities in employees' home offices."
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