Remote Work Barriers in U.S. Virgin Islands Prompt Calls for New Legislation

Nearly six months after Puerto Rico passed legislation intended to incentivize foreign employers into hiring local residents for remote work, two U.S. Virgin Island residents are advocating for a similar law to be passed in the territory, following challenges they have experienced in finding remote work.

Robert Elsner, who moved to the USVI last year in March, said he was let go from his job with only two days notice after moving to the territory, despite the company approving his move and assuring that he would be able to work with them remotely. Mr. Elsner’s wife, Courtney Elsner, said she has also faced struggles with remote work that she previously did not experience on the mainland, and feels that companies—specifically those in the technology industry—have been hesitant to employ her because of her island territory location. The Elsners believe that prevailing local laws governing labor and employment are to blame.

Local employment attorney Marina Leonard cited the territory's employee-friendly laws and the different taxation system as reasons why the companies may be hesitant to hire USVI residents. “When you hire a remote worker, you agree to abide by the laws of wherever the work is being performed,” Leonard said. While Leonard said that she has not previously heard of residents having issues with remote work, she said that once it was brought to her attention “it made a lot of sense.”