Does OSHA Apply to Workers Who Work from Home?

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Introduction

This article discusses whether OSHA applies to individuals when they work from home.

Does OSHA Apply to Workers Who Work from Home or Offsite?

Yes, under certain circumstances.  The OSHA resources that address whether OSHA applies to employees who work from home include a 1999 Letter of Interpretation that has been archived and may no longer represent OSHA policy. The resources also include an OSHA Directive, "Home-Based Worksites," issued in 2000. An additional resource is a March, 2009 Letter of Interpretation.

As noted in the 1999 Letter of Interpretation, the OSH Act (Occupational Safety and Health Act) applies to work performed by an employee in any workplace within the United States, including a workplace located in the employee's home. All employers, including those that have entered into "work at home" agreements with employees, are responsible for complying with the OSH Act and with safety and health standards.

As noted in the Letter of Interpretation, even when the workplace is in a designated area in an employee's home, the employer retains some degree of control over the conditions of the "work at home" agreement. Employers must ensure that employees are not exposed to reasonably foreseeable hazards created by their at-home employment. Ensuring safe and healthful working conditions for the employee should be a precondition for any home-based work assignments. Employers should exercise reasonable diligence to identify in advance the possible hazards associated with particular home work assignments, and should provide the necessary protection through training, personal protective equipment, or other controls appropriate to reduce or eliminate the hazard. 

As noted in the Letter of Interpretation, when the employer provides work materials for use in the employee's home, the employer should ensure that employer-provided tools or supplies pose no hazard under reasonably foreseeable conditions of storage or use by employees. An employer should also take appropriate steps when the employer knows or has reason to know that employee-provided tools or supplies could create a safety or health risk.

Is the employer responsible for compliance with the home itself?

As noted in the Letter of Interpretation, an employer is responsible for ensuring that its employees have a safe and healthful workplace, not a safe and healthful home. The employer is responsible only for preventing or correcting hazards to which employees may be exposed in the course of their work. For example: if work is performed in the basement space of a residence and the stairs leading to the space are unsafe, the employer could be liable if the employer knows or reasonably should have known of the dangerous condition.

When is an Injury or Illness "Work-Related" if it Occurs at an Employee's Home?

According to the 2009 Letter of Interpretation, injuries and illnesses that occur while an employee is working at home, including work in a home office, will be considered work-related if the injury or illness occurs while the employee is performing work for pay or compensation in the home, and the injury or illness is directly related to the performance of work rather than to the general home environment or setting. For example, if an employee drops a box of work documents and injures his or her foot, the case is considered work-related. If an employee's fingernail is punctured by a needle from a sewing machine used to perform garment work at home, becomes infected and requires medical treatment, the injury is considered work-related. If an employee is injured because he or she trips on the family dog while rushing to answer a work phone call, the case is not considered work-related. If an employee working at home is electrocuted because of faulty home wiring, the injury is not considered work-related.

Compliancy Group notes that this article, and the links within this article, may not contain the latest OSHA guidance on the topic of application of OSHA to remote work. Employers should contact OSHA for specific questions, guidance, and information.