Reversal Sought on OSHA Rule on Telecommuting Liability

Rep. Frank R. Wolf (R-Va.) said Tuesday that he will ask the Clinton administration to reverse a Labor Department position that holds companies responsible for federal health and safety violations that occur in employee home offices.

Wolf joined a chorus of criticism of the policy from Republican legislators and employer advocates.

“There are 19 million people that telecommute,” said Wolf, head of the transportation subcommittee of the House Appropriations Committee and an ardent advocate of telecommuting. His Northern Virginia district is among the most traffic-congested in the nation.

If the Labor Department advisory is not rescinded, he said, he will move to kill it.

The advisory, which has been applauded by some labor organizations as a logical extension of existing law protecting workers, came in the form of a letter from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration to an employer that had asked for an interpretation of Labor Department policy. The letter, issued in November, was first reported in Tuesday’s Washington Post.

Officials at the Labor Department, of which OSHA is a part, were quick to point out Tuesday that they weren’t propounding any new regulations, only applying existing ones, and didn’t plan to take enforcement actions. They admitted, however, that the advisory raises a variety of issues vital to employers.