A Dedicated Employee Takes Work Home - Is This a Problem?

Is having a dedicated secretary a problem? Could be. I have a friend who says her secretary checks company emails at home and does work at home, evenings and weekends (sending out a message for a meeting, for example). So what's the problem?

The problem is that the secretary is an hourly employee who is considered "non-exempt;" that is, she is eligible for overtime at 1 1/2 times her hourly rate if she works over 40 hours in a week. Checking and responding to emails at home is considered work. If my friend allows or permits her secretary to work at home, she's doing work and not getting paid overtime. In another example, if you allow an employee to take her lunch back to her desk and work during her lunch hour, you may be authorizing overtime. Depending on the work rules at your business, you may allow an employee to do this occasionally to make up for leaving early for a dental appointment, for example. But any time you allow an employee to work, you are authorizing payment for that work.

So what do you do?

• Keep track of time for all hourly employees on time-sheets. Make certain that the time sheets are accurate, recording all hours that were actually worked each day.
  
• Put your policy on authorized/permitted work time in writing,in your employee policy manual. Have each employee sign off on this policy.
  
• If you want an hourly employee to work at home, you will need to figure out a way to assure that the hours worked are accurately recorded and for that employee, paying overtime if necessary.