Working at Home

Lynn Scarlett’s commentary about OSHA’s on-again, off-again attempt to regulate the workplaces of telecommuters (“Isn’t OSHA About Worker Safety?” Jan. 7) is typical of “the sky is falling” rhetoric we hear from employers in response to any government regulation.

Scarlett suggests that if employers are held responsible for the workplaces of telecommuters, that employers will simply stop offering their employees the opportunity to work at home. This is nonsense. Employers allow workers to work out of their homes because it is in the best interests of the employers. If an employee works at home, the employer does not have to rent office space for that employee.

Scarlett’s argument would suggest that telecommuters should also not be covered by wage and hour laws, the Family and Medical Leave Act, workers’ compensation and antidiscrimination laws. If these laws did not apply to telecommuters, employers would probably be even more willing to allow their employees to work at home. While telecommuting is a choice that many employees find appealing, they should not have to sacrifice their statutory rights in order to exercise this option.

ANDREW STROM

Los Angeles