How Remote Work Opens The Door To Discrimination

By Kayla Torres

The Law Students on Workers’ Rights series publishes essays from current and incoming students at some of the top law schools in the country. These essays, submitted for the Charles E. Joseph Employment Law Scholarship, address the question “What are the biggest challenges facing workers’ rights in the future?”

As an aspiring employment lawyer, I find the new era of workplace privacy fascinating. Balancing employer interests and employee rights became challenging as the workplace became the home during the coronavirus pandemic. Office settings practically disappeared, and online meeting platforms became the norm, granting employers access to the intimate details of their employees’ home lives. 

From an employer perspective, saving on all in-person costs and normalizing reaching people outside work hours made sense. From an employee perspective, safe spaces became stressful, and peace was no longer at will. Suddenly, people were expected to have professional home and work lives, leaving little room for those who barely managed to separate the spheres before. They had to find untouched spaces in their homes that were free of distraction, clean, appropriate, and quiet to work from. Employers suddenly had a direct portal into employees’ lives and more information they could use against them, a particularly damning reality for people who already faced workplace discrimination before the pandemic. Parents with school-aged children were now called to serve many roles simultaneously, as parents, teacher’s assistants, and employees, while ensuring there was never overlap as they went about the workday and their children attended virtual classes. There was no right way to work from home, but one thing was clear: it opened the door to discrimination. 

As we navigate the post-pandemic landscape, the sanctity of personal privacy is increasingly at risk, exposing employees to potential discrimination, microaggressions, and intrusive monitoring within their own homes. Economic disparities exacerbate these challenges, as not all workers have equal access to the resources necessary for remote work. Employees from lower socioeconomic backgrounds or those lacking suitable home environments face additional barriers, further widening existing inequalities and impeding upward mobility.

Transitioning to remote work also blurred the boundaries between professional and personal online lives, making employees more vulnerable to scrutiny and exploitation. The widespread use of social media platforms has compounded privacy concerns, with employers increasingly relying on online personas to assess and scrutinize their employees. The extensive digital footprints left by younger generations, who are often more active on social media, expose them to heightened surveillance and potential repercussions in the workplace. 

To address these complex issues, workers must assert their rights proactively. Education and collective action are essential in empowering employees to safeguard their privacy and resist exploitative practices. Individuals can amplify their voices and demand meaningful reforms by forming or joining advocacy groups dedicated to workplace rights. While unions have traditionally been defenders of workers’ rights, the evolving nature of remote work requires adaptation and innovation in organizational strategies moving online. Grassroots initiatives and community-led efforts can complement traditional union frameworks, fostering a more inclusive and responsive approach to addressing contemporary challenges. Additionally, employers should implement appropriate training for their remote employees, teaching them ways to protect themselves, like muting their microphones or blurring their background, and also provide resources like green screens and noise-canceling headphones. 

Legal professionals can create a more equitable and dignified work environment by advocating for privacy protections and enforcing existing labor laws. The future of workers’ rights hinges on our ability to confront and overcome the pervasive threats posed by workplace privacy issues. Through collective action, legal advocacy, and proactive measures to safeguard individual privacy, workers can strive toward a future where dignity, autonomy, and fairness prevail in all aspects of the workplace. Until then, it is imperative to draw attention to the dangers of letting your employer, albeit virtually, into your home.

Reflections from Charles Joseph

The debate over remote work has often focused on productivity and flexibility. But as Kayla Torres argues, WFH creates a new risk by creating new conditions for workplace discrimination. And while working remotely might seemingly limit opportunities for a hostile work environment, videoconferencing and messaging apps can bring microaggressions and harassment directly into the home. 

Centering workers’ rights in the discussion of remote work can bring awareness to the issue––and employment lawyers must be vigilant in searching out evidence of remote discrimination. 

Kayla Torres holds a bachelor’s in industrial and labor relations from Cornell University. During her time at Cornell, she completed internships at the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the National Center for Law and Economic Justice. Torres will join the class of 2027 at New York University School of Law in the fall. Contact Torres on LinkedIn. 

Charles Joseph has over two decades of experience as an NYC employment lawyer. He is the founder of Working Now and Then and the founding partner of Joseph and Kirschenbaum, a firm that has recovered over $140 million for clients.