New hires and current employees alike are asking for more flexibility in where they perform their work—not just at home versus the office but also working remotely from out of state or even out of the country. These requests may be permanent or temporary in nature (for example, temporarily working at a vacation destination for the summer or permanently splitting the workweek or month between states where one works and lives), but they all amount to state employment and tax law compliance issues the employer should be aware of when providing this benefit.
In general, the state in which the work is physically being performed is the governing state for employment laws, including wage and hour laws and required leave laws. Some states won't consider short, temporary stays by employees to be covered work, but others do. Employers will need to abide by each state's requirements to be in compliance.
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What must employers consider when offering a work-from-anywhere policy?
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