After more than a year living in a pandemic, many workers have grown used to working from home (WFH) and want to continue doing so, even as the country begins to edge closer to more re-openings. However, with more people getting vaccinated and Covid-19 rates decreasing in many states, some employers are pushing for their employees to return to their worksites. What happens for workers who don’t want to return? Is there a legal right to work from home?
No Legal Right to Work Remotely
When public health orders are lifted and employees are cleared to return to the workplace, employers might have operational concerns to justify a distinction between essential and noncritical workers; they have the right to determine the worksite of any of their positions. Although people have been working from home to help slow the spread of the coronavirus, the pandemic does not change any existing labor laws.