So I have a question.

22 Comments

1. Erin VegaDecember 18,2022 at 6:06AM UTC

   Is there a company policy stipulating work from home and sick day policy? Was your friend aware of the policy? My opinion is that employees would be entitled to sick days. Not sure if the entire company is remote but if onsite staff as well the company really needs to have the same standards and policies equally between remote and onsite employees.

   If your friend was able to work for a little bit maybe she could have asked boss for part day or even a couple of hours to take care of important tasks. Not really sure as I am a remote worker who works when they are sick.

2. Antoinette VanSchaickDecember 18,2022 at 9:20PM UTC

   Prior to the pandemic, staff was onsite. Since the pandemic, my friend is on-site and the other coworkers are working remotely. It's a small staff, and it's been a very long time since my friend has taken a sick day.. I just think the boss's text was crappy.

3. Rae WagonerDecember 20,2022 at 1:53PM UTC

   I would advise her to keep the text, and screenshot it. The advice to check the employee manual is solid. Having evidence of what he said is a good thing for your friend.

4. Susan Heidi WolmanDecember 18,2022 at 2:00PM UTC

   She should log in and rest

5. Erica ZDecember 18,2022 at 3:51PM UTC

   Is that another way of saying she should commit time card fraud? Because as well as being a serious integrity violation, most remote jobs have systems in place to track actual productivity. One example would be tracking keystrokes, or incoming messages/calls.

6. AnonymousDecember 18,2022 at 3:29PM UTC

   It depends on the nature of the illness and her ability to work. If she got a doctor's note stating she should not return to work (needing bed rest), then they should have to honor a sick-day request. If her voice was not impacted and she could make phone calls, do paperwork, or utilize the at-home technology to complete some of her daily tasks, then it would be good that she does not have to take a sick day and still get paid.

7. AnonymousDecember 18,2022 at 11:12PM UTC

   I mean with a temp like that, I think def needs bed rest. The quicker you rest the faster you heal.

8. AnonymousDecember 18,2022 at 5:23PM UTC

   Wow. If you are sick, you shouldn’t be working. If the boss is demanding it, I would log on and not actually do work.

9. Crystal HowellDecember 18,2022 at 10:50PM UTC

   Check the employee handbook, they probably don't have remote work section, so her sick pay should be paid. If not, check with HR, EEOC or free employee consult with the EPA hotline or attorney. If it's in writing, well she might have a case?

10. AnonymousDecember 19,2022 at 1:22AM UTC

    It's illegal not to offer some minimum of sick leave in the way of pto or sick days. Those days are there for this very reason. There is no scenario that says remote work is mandatory for sick employees.

11. Cynthia Armistead NewmanDecember 19,2022 at 1:48PM UTC

    That't not necessarily true. My husband works in construction and has only had one job throughout a 35+ year career that provided ANY sick leave.

12. surfnwriteDecember 20,2022 at 6:22PM UTC

    My job provides NO unpaid sick or PTO.

13. AnonymousDecember 19,2022 at 12:52PM UTC

    That’s horrible.
    If she has sick days accumulated this year, she is allowed to use them as she needs to. If I am sick and see a doctor, I always ask for a doctor’s note to provide to my employer. If it is in writing, HR is required to file it and honor it. We have to do what is best for our own health, and advocate for ourselves! I would say that a fever qualifies for a sick day, not work from home.

14. Enock MkunaDecember 19,2022 at 1:42PM UTC

    Security guard

15. Diane McDevittDecember 19,2022 at 1:42PM UTC

    Probably not legal, but the next step would be to review the Employee Handbook and if there is not definitive separation of WFH vs Onsite in benefits like sick days, then perhaps HR needs to weigh in on the matter. The boss could just be ignorant of how WFH is to be treated when it comes to sick days - and that's a possibility as in many cases this is new - especially to establishment-type supervisors. I would think that the state does not separate the treatment of WFH vs Onsite when it comes to benefits either.

16. AnonymousDecember 20,2022 at 12:21AM UTC

    WTF?? If you're sick, you're sick whether or not it's remote is not a factor. Time to check the employee handbook and start searching for another job. That boss is clueless.

17. ChrishoggDecember 20,2022 at 1:45PM UTC

    Unless the advice and opinions offered in these comments (including this comment) include 1) What does your employee handbook (or equivalent) say? and/or 2) Check with your HR department (or whoever handles things like this), you would be wise to ignore those comments.

    So, here are two suggestions you can give your friend:

    1) Check your employee handbook.

    2) Check with your HR department (or equivalent).

18. AnonymousDecember 20,2022 at 2:17PM UTC

    Definitely have her check the Employee Handbook. If there is sick leave available then her boss cannot dictate whether or not she can take a sick day. Your friend does not have to disclose the health condition to her boss, remote or not. That is a privacy issue. Depending on the policy for work, she may have to get a doctor’s note after so many days, but her manager needs to get updated on the laws surrounding health information with workplace, which remote workers still are working. Remote or not, sick is sick. A fever is not something to

    mess with. And, in some states, a minimum of sick leave is required for an employer to give even if they do not give it as part of their own policy. Have her call the state if needed. Dept of Labor can be a good resource.

19. AnonymousDecember 20,2022 at 2:24PM UTC

    Yes. It’s illegal-100% regardless of the company’s policies. The boss is endangering the employee’s quality of health. If she would have became more sick from working remotely instead of resting or seeking help, it’s reckless endangerment on the employer by forcing her to work in an unstable physical state. Her employer indirectly threatened her job. Even if she did or did not have the sick time, her physical state makes it illegal. If this common for her workplace, she should consider someplace new to work.

20. AnonymousDecember 20,2022 at 9:07PM UTC

    I leave it up to the employees on the team I lead to advise me on how up to working they feel (high-level, I don't usually need details unless a longer-term thing). We do allow a limited amount of remote work (someone's sick, or their child/ spouse/ dependent is sick, home/car issue, etc.) as long as they are productive based upon what they need to get done for the week. Rule of thumb typically is if they feel a bit under the weather but well enough to do some work from home, then I don't ask them to use a sick day. If they don't feel up to working online, being available for calls, etc. throughout the day, they can use a sick day instead and would not report in for any work, even remotely. I have found that the staff is generally very honest with this approach.

21. Liz MilneDecember 21,2022 at 12:57AM UTC

    There is being mildly ill and contagious - fine to wfh

    and then there is being so ill you can't stand, your head feels like it's stuffed with cotton wool and you're running a fever - absolutely NOT fine to wfh! Boss is taking the mickey, I think...

22. Joan Williams, Senior Talent Acquisition SpecialistDecember 21,2022 at 3:36AM UTC

    YOU SAID: "There is no reimbursement for internet, phone, or electric use from my friend's boss for the time and expense of working remotely."

    I don't see what that has to do with anything. If you have internet service, you have internet service - you're not going to be charged more for using it working from home. Same with the phone - doesn't pretty much everyone have unlimited minutes these days? What additional expense is incurred there?

    What is their company policy around sick time? Does she have any sick time/PTO left? If she does, it should not matter if she's working remote or not.

    Have her check the Employee Handbook or with HR but if she has the sick time, I'm thinking if she should be paid for that time.