Earlier in December 2015 there was a controversial case in Illinois that shook a lot of people up. The courts decided that a police officer technically qualified as a telecommuter and was therefore eligible for a workers comp package, even though the cop was not on duty. His story was that he lifted a bag full of equipment and injured his back. He was in uniform at the time, but it was definitely not on his pre-approved shift. The jury ruled that since the bag of items was issued by his employer, then the employer assumed the liability of any problems which would arise from using it. Whether you agree with this view or not, you need to take note of this ruling so you’re not subject to the same terms in your own state. While you can’t entirely prevent this kind of problem from occurring, we’ll give you a better idea of the type of person you do want telecommuting or otherwise working in generally unsupervised terms. This precaution may be just the key to keeping yourself out of this type of no-win situation that the police force is finding themselves in currently.
During your first interview, have the person take you through a general day. See how much they get done and how they feel about that. The more disciplined a person is in their daily life, the more likely they won’t have the personality to do what the cop did. A highly motivated person just wants to do their job well, and they’re not interested in trying to swindle a buck out of someone. It will be pivotal to call their old employers as well to get a second opinion as to how much they accomplished, how well they responded to authority and a general sense of their time management skills. Everyone who works from home also needs to have a clear line of command if they have problems or need questions answered. This decreases resentment and further reduces the chances of an issue. For the employees you currently have, you should know how their lives relate to their jobs. If they’re going through a rough time at home and that’s also where they work, then that’s a potential time bomb. You’ll have to truly step outside the box and challenge how you see your employees if you’re going to have them telecommute. It’s much easier in this case for both people to feel no connection and thus free to act in a way they wouldn’t if they were face to face. You might not be prepared to face the consequences if there’s an extreme case suck as the one in Illinois.
