As 2023 comes to a close, there are a number of employment law issues that seem ready to percolate next year. For sure, one of those issues will be how employers deal with employees who wish to continue to work from home in the face of a workforce demanding they return to the office. With a subset of employers now seeking their workers back full time. Some surveys even report up to 90% of employers want their employees back in the office. Which leaves only a small minority of employees pleased about full time work from home. Employees now comfortable (and even excelling) with working from home may face new challenges if employers mandate a return to the office. Here is a quick primer of applicable law and some points of emphasis between employers and employees.

First, employers are generally permitted to set and maintain their own policies—which typically include items such as where and when employees are required to work. Accordingly, as long as employers follow the health and safety guidelines of the Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA), management can generally require workers to return to the office. To be sure, employees who are now accustomed to working from home can technically refuse— but in many circumstances that employee can be let go and even terminated.

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