As the pandemic becomes endemic, more companies are asking workers to return to the office. About 30% of paid workdays remain remote, just a 5% increase from before the COVID-19 outbreak.
The Working from Home Research Project, a collaboration of economists from Stanford and the University of Chicago, found that 40% of employers plan to use remote work as a way to ease recession pressures on their bottom lines. They can fill new positions with remote workers and pay them less than the workers that regularly report to the office; It is typical for income to be determined by the cost of living near the location of the workplace.
Some employers consider remote work as a perk or benefit. That benefit goes both ways. Employees can save on commuting, meals, wardrobe and some childcare while employers can save on rent and reduce their office space along with its associated expenses”
As remote work seems to be here to stay, there will be a division of that savings between employee and employer. As the pandemic eases and employers ask you to return to the office they will be tempted to make their bottom lines recession-proof by maintaining your pay at the work-from-home rates.
If you accepted a pay decrease to work from home and your employer asked you to return to work without returning your pay to your pre-remote rate or better, contact our experienced attorneys to get the salary you deserve or to recoup lost wages.