Employment: Telecommuting Act.

Existing law regulates the wages, hours, and working conditions of any worker employed in any occupation, trade, or industry, whether compensation is measured by time, piece, or otherwise, except as specified. This bill, among other things, would authorize any nonexempt employee working from home who is not under the physical control of the employer to choose when to take any meal or rest period during the workday, if the employer has not already scheduled a meal or rest period within the requirements of the law. The bill would require an employer to only pay one additional hour of pay for each day that the employer fails to notify the employee of the employee's right to take a break or requires an employee to work without a meal or rest period. The bill would also authorize an employee working from home to receive legally required notices and postings electronically and sign certain documents electronically. Existing law requires an employer to indemnify an employee for all necessary expenditures or losses incurred by the employee in direct consequence of the discharge of their duties, or of their obedience to the directions of the employer. This bill would require an employer, unless the employer provides the equipment, to reimburse or indemnify an employee working from home for all physical equipment in the home reasonably necessary to perform the employee's work duties, including, but not limited to, a computer, a printer, and a scanner. The bill would require an employer to reimburse or indemnify an employee who works from home for a reasonable percentage of the employee's monthly internet and telephone costs to the extent those costs are necessary for performance of their work duties, as provided. The bill would prohibit an employer from retaliating against an employee who seeks reimbursement or indemnification for the allowable expenses.