[samhuk]

I can see how that can quite easily be viewed as gatekeeping.

Having a "spare" room or a rented coworking space to use as a remote office is a luxury of the middle/upper class.

I can see your logic, and I can see how it would be more profitable for companies when hiring remote, but at the end of the day, there are many profitable things a company can do that they are not (technically, see: "legally") allowed to do, for example not hiring disabled workers, firing pregnant female workers, and so on.

We choose to not maximise productivity to create a more accepting and equal society.

That is of course all in theory.

[xwdv]

A company can still hire unverified workers though if they want.

[samhuk]

But that doesn't address the issue that there would be a legal way for companies to discriminate based on your wealth, regardless if they do it or not.

"filter for applicants with a remote office" is virtually 1-to-1 with "filter for middle/upper class applicants", which of course is unacceptable according to our modern view on social mobility and egalitarianism.

[xwdv]

But not illegal.