Bureaucrats Look Homeward

The federal Department of Labor wisely decided Wednesday to leave telecommuters to the perils lurking in their own homes: the ergonomically incorrect easy chair, the toys on the floor that might be a tripping hazard, books that could fall from end tables and desks, and those pajamas that might not be flame-resistant.

In an advisory from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration that came to light this week, specifying that companies are liable for health and safety violations in the homes of any employee who telecommutes, OSHA did nothing but open itself to richly deserved ridicule and invite frivolous litigation. Now, after a storm of protest, OSHA’s parent has rescinded what it called a clarification of a long-standing rule covering home workers. This episode stands as a shining example of bureaucratic thinking at its worst: rule-making without any thought of how the real world works. Canceling the memo does not erase the time and money spent on it or restore OSHA’s lost credibility.

Millions of Americans now work from home, regularly or occasionally. In fact, Congress and the White House have encouraged telecommuting as a way to ease traffic congestion in some cities and expand employee flexibility. The OSHA advisory, if allowed to stand, would have thoughtlessly undone years of slow progress in this direction. Absurdly, it would even have extended to parents who dash home to be with a sick child and then finish an office memo from there.

Before the advisory was withdrawn, OSHA defensively insisted that it had no intention of inspecting private homes the way it does office and factory work sites. Did the agency then expect companies to try to inspect the homes of their employees? Or forbid telecommuting altogether? Or simply wait to be sued by the first clown who claimed his cricked neck was caused by reading company memos in bed?

OSHA should now get back to real workplace hazards.