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

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Does OSHA Apply to Workers Who Work from Home or Offsite?
Yes, under certain circumstances.

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.

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. 

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?
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.

For more generalized guidance about working from home under OSHA, please click here and here.

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.