Telecommuters denied some workers' comp benefits

Federal employees who telecommute cannot receive workers compensation benefits for as wide a range of injuries as employees who work in agency offices, according to the Labor Department.

The rules for when a telecommuter is eligible for workers' compensation benefits are set out in guidance issued by the Labor Department's Office of Workers Compensation (OWCP), which administers the Federal Employees Compensation Act (FECA), and by a recent decision made by an appeals board that hears employees' complaints against OWCP.

"Employees who are directly engaged in performing the duties of their jobs are covered by FECA, regardless of whether the work is performed on the agency's premises or at an alternative worksite," OWCP guidance says. "However, when an employee is on property under his or her own control, activities which are not immediately directed toward the actual performance of regular duties do not arise out of employment. An employee who works at a desk at home removes himself or herself from the performance of regular duties as soon as he or she walks away from that desk to use the bathroom, get a cup of coffee or seek fresh air."

The same rule does not apply for employees working at an agency's offices. In the official workplace, a legal concept called the "personal comfort doctrine" holds employers responsible for injuries employees sustain while, for example, changing the temperature or going to the restroom.

Federal managers' interest in the rules governing telcommuting safety were sparked earlier this month when the Occupational Safety and Health Administration released, and then rescinded, an advisory letter on how private companies should deal with telecommuting safety. The OSHA letter did not affect rules governing federal agencies.

In a recent case before the Employees' Compensation Appeals Board, Internal Revenue Service employee Julietta M. Reynolds sought workers compensation benefits after she injured herself while working from home.

Reynolds, then a 54-year-old revenue officer, was working at home on Jan. 12, 1996, when she started to get cold. The thermostat wasn't working, so Reynolds went down to the basement to restart the furnace. On her way back upstairs, she fell on the stairway and hurt her right leg and left toes. After getting a doctor's note, Reynolds filed for workers' compensation benefits.

In a letter to OWCP, the IRS said the employee was not directed to repair her furnace and that furnace repairs did not pertain to her official duties. Reynolds countered that if she had been working in her office at the time of the accident, there would be no question that she was covered.

The OWCP initially denied her claim, but in July 1996, an OWCP hearing representative reversed the denial. Then in October 1996, the office reopened the case and ruled that the personal comfort doctrine does not apply to employees who work at home. Finally, in August 1999, the appeals board upheld the OWCP's ruling that Reynolds should not receive any benefits.

"While at home, the employee is responsible for maintaining his or her home in a safe manner, over which the employer has no control of hazards," the board said in its decision. "For this reason, the [OWCP] determined that only those injuries which occur while an employee is 'actually performing his or her work at home' are considered to arise in the course of employment."

The OWCP does not keep statistics on how many at-home workers file for workers compensation benefits, spokeswoman Sue Blumenthal said.

Wendell Joice, a telecommuting expert at the General Services Administration, said an employee's ability to control the environment of a home office is a major reason why people like to work from home.

"The fact that you can make your office the way you want it has a fair impact on your productivity," Joice said. "You can have the lighting, the temperature, the air flow, the way you want it."