Administration Clarifies Liability Position

The employers of millions of Americans who “telecommute” will not be held liable for any federal health or safety violations that occur at the workers’ home offices, according to testimony prepared for Congress by the Labor Department. At the same time, the Clinton administration has decided that employers are not exempt from liability related to hazardous manufacturing work that employees perform in their homes, such as the manufacturing of electronic components or lead fishing lures or the assembly of fireworks--work-at-home activities that the Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited in recent years. The testimony, by drawing a sharp distinction between the extension of workplace laws for white-collar telecommuting and for blue-collar home manufacturing, represents the administration’s definitive policy statement on an issue that has vexed department policymakers.