Dean A. Rocco

Dean Rocco (Partner-Los Angeles) and Laura Stutz (Of Counsel-Madison, NJ) are quoted in the article "EU Remote Work Directive Could Hit Home for U.S. Employers," published in Workspan Daily on August 2, 2023. The article explores the European Union's push for remote work standardization and calls for a directive defining remote work rules for employers to follow. Laura explains, "The right to disconnect beyond usual business hours has been part of global workplace discussions over the years…the idea is to protect employees from burnout and shield them from repercussions and discipline for off-hours non-responsiveness." Dean notes that the EU standardization of laws will likely affect U.S.-based employers with employees working abroad. Regarding the proposed new rules, Dean says, "It is difficult to assess whether these rules would discourage a multinational company from hiring new remote workers within the EU." He advises, "As more remote worker rules come online, employers need to be strategic in attempting to align the operating hours of their headquarters with the work schedules of foreign remote employees as well as set clear expectations around whether and when those employees should be online."