The flight of workers to improvised home offices because of the coronavirus shouldn’t prompt an onslaught of home inspections by federal safety regulators, according to longstanding OSHA policy.
The agency won’t cite employers for a home office’s jumble of extension cords on a floor, for instance, or for file cabinets partially blocking a doorway—hazards the Occupational Safety and Health Administration could cite during an inspection of a commercial building. In 2000, when teleworking began to spread, OSHA said in a directive and in congressional testimony that it wouldn’t inspect home offices.
“We believe the Occupational Safety and Health Act does ...
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