As lawmakers focus on the need to remove an untenable financial penalty for taking sick leave - lost pay - they should also focus on the need to eliminate the steep penalty for telecommuting. To help contain the spread of the H1N1 virus, the Obama Administration has wisely encouraged employers to permit both leave and telecommuting, and both options must be affordable. Right now, telecommuting can be too expensive for Americans who work for out-of-state employers. If, for example, a Connecticut resident works for a New York company and agrees to telecommute when she comes down with the flu, she may be subject to double taxation on the income she earns at home - once by Connecticut and then a second time by New York. The threat of owing two states taxes on the same compensation can force contagious employees to ignore their symptoms and go to work. A bi-partisan federal bill called the Telecommuter Tax Fairness Act (H.R. 2600) would eliminate the double tax penalty for telecommuting across state lines. It would bar states like New York from taxing the income nonresidents earn in their states of residence. Any legislation designed to enable flu-stricken Americans to stay home without financial risk must provide for telecommuter tax fairness as well as paid leave.