I don't disagree, but I was in a situation recently where I needed to WFH from another state for family reasons. I was very honest with my employer about what was happening and why, and gave it plenty of notice.
The company wouldn't allow it, for very understandable tax reasons. But my family is more important to me than any company. That's the way human beings are supposed to live their lives.
I ended up resigning. The week before I moved, my boss left me a voice mail asking if I could hold off on my job search because the previous-inflexible directors of the company were going to try to work something out. Eventually they did, and now allow anyone in certain positions to work remotely.
It turned out that the company had lost several other employees in the previous weeks over remote work, and based on the long list of open positions on the company's web site, it's having trouble replacing people.
This is the only time in my life when a good number of employees have had more sway over their jobs than their bosses. It's good to see people everywhere taking advantage of this (in a good way), and leveling the playing field with their companies.
Employment is a two-way street. It's not servitude. This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to alter society in a way that favors people over profit.
Registering for payroll tax in another state is generally very straightforward, and carries minimal additional income tax consequences (unless the employee at issue is an executive).
If the company uses a payroll services provider like ADP, it really is as easy as having the legal department register for payroll tax (and unemployment tax, if that is a separate registration in that state), a roughly 15-30 minute process, and providing the relevant ID numbers to ADP.
It's not just about payroll - there are all other kinds of employment-related laws that must be complied with which are set at a state level. For example, minimum required vacation time, sick leave, minimum wage, employment contracts (e.g. restrictive covenants), required reimbursement for employment-related costs.
A lot of those laws don't kick in if you've only got a single employee in-state; there is usually a threshold before an out-of-state employer is subject to those laws. The threshold is usually 10 employees, but it varies by state, and can even vary by the size of the employer, so I left this out.
However, payroll compliance and unemployment kick in with a single employee. There is no minimum threshold.
It doesn’t though: profits for lots of companies during the pandemic were at all time highs, as was productivity. Remote work favors people who deliver, and not those who play politics or like to use the office to keep up social appearances!
So both profit and people are addressed by more remote work!
The company wouldn't allow it, for very understandable tax reasons. But my family is more important to me than any company. That's the way human beings are supposed to live their lives.
I ended up resigning. The week before I moved, my boss left me a voice mail asking if I could hold off on my job search because the previous-inflexible directors of the company were going to try to work something out. Eventually they did, and now allow anyone in certain positions to work remotely.
It turned out that the company had lost several other employees in the previous weeks over remote work, and based on the long list of open positions on the company's web site, it's having trouble replacing people.
This is the only time in my life when a good number of employees have had more sway over their jobs than their bosses. It's good to see people everywhere taking advantage of this (in a good way), and leveling the playing field with their companies.
Employment is a two-way street. It's not servitude. This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to alter society in a way that favors people over profit.