Q&A with The Workplace Advisors – September 2025

Remote work offers flexibility, but what happens when an employee moves to another state? In this month’s Q&A, The Workplace Advisors explain what employers need to do to stay compliant.

Question: We have a remote workforce. One of our employees just moved to a different state. It does not impact their job performance or schedule, but is there anything we need to do?

Answer: Having remote employees does not negate an employer's obligation to follow the laws of the state and city where their employees work. This means that not only do companies need to comply with regulations in the state where their corporate office is located, but they also need to follow those wherever an employee works, including from a home office and, in some cases, where they will be working for an extended period. 

Since your employee has moved, you will need to enroll with their new state of residence to ensure that proper payroll taxes are withheld and unemployment records are maintained. You will also need to ensure your Workers' Comp coverage is valid for that state. Since all states and some cities have unique employment laws, you also need to research applicable employment laws, such as breaks, paid and protected time off, leaves of absence, and wage-and-hour laws.

If you do not have the capacity to expand into other states or do not want to be obligated to follow the more restrictive or beneficial laws of certain states, you can restrict where an employee is permitted to work from, either for a short or extended period of time. You can require them to get permission before working in a new location and reserve the right to deny such requests.