Like working from home? In Australia, it could become the law

In some places, the next battle in the war over remote work may be fought in legislatures, not HR departments. The United Kingdom, Ireland, and New Zealand have already passed laws giving workers the right to request remote work and to have the request considered fairly by their employers. Canada extends similar rights to federal employees. The European Union does so for parents or caregivers of young children. Now, the Australian state of Victoria is considering taking things a step further. There, lawmakers are weighing a proposal to establish a blanket right for eligible employees to work from home two days a week. If enacted, the measure would represent a noticeable escalation in the push to enshrine workplace flexibility in law: Instead of merely giving employees the right to ask for remote work, Victoria would effectively shift the burden onto employers to justify why an eligible worker cannot work remotely. That distinction is important. Most remote work laws adopted elsewhere stop well short of guaranteeing that employees can work from their home offices or kitchen tables. Instead, they establish a process: Workers can ask for a flexible arrangement without being dismissed…