Nineeightyone
Autocross Champion
I'd love to see a world where we don't need to physically appear places to perform tasks/jobs, and less than stellar weather just means we do things remote.
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CSB3: Sterkrazzys Five Page Dissertation - TLDR He Got A Flat Tire
- Thread starter riceburner
- Start date
I've often wondered: if someone can do their job remotely, but they are required to commute to the office even during severe weather...could the company be held liable for accidents/injuries during the commute? The person didn't have to go in to do their job.
Nineeightyone
Autocross Champion
Should be, but I don't know how much faith I have that it would actually hold up. Mostly because commercial/business real estate would plummet like a brick if going into an office weren't 100% necessary. Though a large number of office buildings could in theory be converted to livable domiciles (there are obviously things that would have to happen to make it safe for housing use), or even a model in which some floors are used for housing and some for business.
I recognize my work in a hospital system is likely never going to be remote, but it's not an awful stretch to say that others could easily be remote and cut down on emissions, auto insurance claims, and generally improve QoL.
jay745
What Would Glenn Danzig Do
This is pretty ridiculous
Nineeightyone
Autocross Champion
ngl I'm glad that we've at least gotten to a point where infrastructure is decent enough that it's fairly reliable to work from home. Not everyone can obviously, BUT at least it helps some folks.
I know it's not a very blue-collar red-blooded American idea, sure. I work in manufacturing, I get it. But let's reframe the scenario.
I have two pieces of equipment that can do the same thing. One is much more likely to cause a recordable injury than the other, this is widely known and documented. The company could put in guarding or controls to prevent this, but chooses not to. Today, the safe machine is unavailable, so I have to use the unsafe machine. I suffer a recordable incident. The company is now liable.
jay745
What Would Glenn Danzig Do
That's pretty different than a company being held liable for your commute
riceburner
Autocross Champion
Ive wondered the same. There is so much unused space especially at night. Here is a picture i took at 3am working in chicago. Look at how many lights and tvs are left on. So many offices are a complete waste of money, space, materials and energy
Side note i saw someone waving at me through a window. I waved back. They were cleaning the window
How is it really that different? In both instances I'm required to operate in unsafe conditions when a viable safe alternative exists.
I'm not saying that a company should be held liable if I'm hit by a drunk driver on a day when it's sunny and 75. I'm saying that everyone knows commuting in 7 inches of snow is "unsafe" and the company is telling me to do it anyway, even though I could do my job without being exposed to that risk.
cb1111
Newbie
Nope - because the commute is not work time. Work time starts when you "clock in". I've been "essential" for 20+ years, meaning that I have to show up even if the government is closed - and if there is a failure to fund the government, I still get to come in without getting paid (with the expectation that I'll get paid when funding is restored - but then I'm pissed off about the people who stayed home, weren't even allowed to read email, and also got back pay).
The bottom line is that nobody is making you take whatever job requires that commute, so any accidents are on you.
I felt bad when one of my watchstanders got hit by a drunk driver on his way to work. He ended up in the hospital for a few months and was never really the same thereafter. We all pitched in and donated leave to him when he ran out of leave, and I modified his work when he came back to make it something he could do, but that was on us - I ended up donating over $10k in leave and so did my boss.
Nineeightyone
Autocross Champion
Man that's a nice viewIve wondered the same. There is so much unused space especially at night. Here is a picture i took at 3am working in chicago. Look at how many lights and tvs are left on. So many offices are a complete waste of money, space, materials and energy
Side note i saw someone waving at me through a window. I waved back. They were cleaning the window
View attachment 299368
jay745
What Would Glenn Danzig Do
Because it's not the company's responsibility to make sure your vehicle is safe for the area you live in. If you choose to live in an area it snows and not use winter tires that's on you, not the company you work for.
Nineeightyone
Autocross Champion
While I agree that it's not necessarily on the company, I'd like to raise a point that not everyone can afford to accommodate all weather situations, and additionally not everyone can afford to move to a different area of the country readily. Improvements to public transportation infrastructure would be a boon to the lower and middle classes, and could greatly improve class mobility and allow for great social improvements.
I agree with you.
But in this thought experiment, I don't have to be physically present on-site. I don't even have to get in my car in order to do my work. Car's new, maintenance up to date, winter tires, 4x4, I've been to professional winter driving school, driving well under speed limit, etc. etc. etc. ........ the only reason I'm on the road during severe weather, instead of on my couch, is because my boss said so. Every other mitigating factor on my end has been mitigated. How is the risk not now the company's?