Hartford Business Journal

www.HartfordBusiness.com November 14, 2016 • Hartford Business Journal 23 Jim Stutz, transportation supervising planner for the state Department of Transpor- tation, who helps manage CTrides' business partnerships, also doesn't see negative fallout from Aetna's telecommuting adjustments. "I think technology is moving in a way that makes it easier for companies to implement it even if a company is making a more global move to get employees back into the office," he said. "There's still going to be that need when weather happens or when some kind of business impact happens that they really need to be flexible. Tech- nology has made that possible and I think it's going to … continue to be a very significant factor in how companies work with their employees." Legal pitfalls Daniel Schwartz, an employment law partner at Shipman & Goodwin LLP in Hartford who also publishes the Connecticut employment law blog said, in general, companies he's seen reduce telecommuting haven't eliminated it. "I'm certain that many of these compa- nies continue it, but on a more … as-needed basis rather than just a blanket allowance of it," Schwartz said. Under federal law — the Americans with Disabilities Act, for example — telecommuting might be a good accommo- dation to someone who has a disability, so he doesn't advise getting rid of it entirely. Schwartz wouldn't speculate about tele- commuting trends, but said technology is allowing more people to work outside of nor- mal working hours and locations, a situation largely fueled by smartphones. Part of the telecommuting retrenchment among some companies, which he declined to call a trend, is an effort to maintain more control over the office setting, Schwartz said. "Obviously, part of what we hear about is maintaining a certain culture and making sure that things are done perhaps with the same speed and quality that it might be in the office — at least that's the concern that's expressed," he said. While telecommuting is here to stay, Schwartz can't say it will grow since it depends on the industry and types of jobs. Also, there are telecommuting legal issues companies must think about, he said. Data security and data privacy comprise a huge issue with more employees calling in or working from home, he said. Other issues include workers' compensation and what hap- pens if a worker is injured at home, and how to compensate employees who get overtime when they can't be managed or monitored as easily as if they were in an office. "There are all those issues that we've seen and you want to think about that ahead of time rather than after the fact," Schwartz said of areas his firm addresses for companies, includ- ing how to set up a telecommuting policy, managing it legally and dealing with issues of reasonable accommodation when an employee requests telecommuting as a work option. "The telecommuting relationship in 2016 looks very different than it did in 2006, just with the advances in technology," he said. "So I think you're going to see it sort of continue to develop over time and maybe in some industries it will become more acceptable and in others it might not be as sought after as it once was." n Number of Workdays Individuals Typically Telecommute Rather Than Go To Office All Workers Workers who have % ever telecommuted % No days 72 23 1-2 days 9 23 3-5 days 8 22 6-10 days 2 6 More than 10 days 9 24 Mean number of days 2.3 6.4 Median number of days 0 3 S O U R C E : 2 0 1 5 G A L L U P S U R V E Y Part of the reason Aetna is reducing its telecommute options is because the company wants to improve employee collaboration to spur new ideas. Build a sales culture to achieve maximum results. 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