Remote Employees Policy

St. Bonaventure University considers employment at a remote location to be a viable alternative work arrangement in cases where individual, job and supervisor characteristics are best suited to such an arrangement. Remote employment allows an employee to work at home, on the road, or in a satellite location for all or part of their regular workweek. Remote employment is a voluntary work alternative that may be appropriate for some employees and some jobs. It is not an entitlement; it is not a University-wide benefit; and it in no way changes the terms and conditions of employment with St. Bonaventure University.

Procedure:

The supervisor and Executive officer suggest remote employment as a possible work arrangement. Location and details are worked out at least one month prior to hiring the incumbent or assigning the current employee to the remote site. Advance notice to the Controller, Payroll and Human Resources is required to set up appropriate workers compensation, unemployment and tax reporting requirements for the remote site. The Senior Vice President for Finance and Administration will make the final determination on whether the remote employment is approved.

Remote employment arrangement will be made on a trial basis for the first 3 months, and may be discontinued, at will, at any time at the request of either the individual or the University.

St. Bonaventure University will determine, with information supplied by the supervisor, the appropriate equipment needs (including hardware, software, modems, phone and data lines, facsimile equipment or software, photocopiers, etc.) for each remote employment arrangement on a case-by-case basis. Tech Services, Business Office, and Purchasing will serve as resources in this matter. Equipment supplied by the University will be maintained by the University. Equipment supplied by the employee, if deemed appropriate by the University, will be maintained by the employee. St. Bonaventure University accepts no responsibility for damage or repairs to employee-owned equipment. St. Bonaventure University reserves the right to make determinations as to appropriate equipment, subject to change at any time. Equipment supplied by the University is to be used for business purposes only. The remote employee should sign an inventory of all office property and agrees to take appropriate action to protect the items from damage or theft. Upon termination of employment all University property will be returned to the University.

Consistent with the University’s expectations of information asset security for employees working at the office full-time, remote employees will be expected to ensure the protection of proprietary University and customer (student, prospects, etc) information accessible from their home or satellite office. Steps include, but are not limited to, use of locked file cabinets, disk boxes and desks, regular password maintenance, and any other steps appropriate for the job and the environment.

The employee will establish an appropriate work environment within their home for work purposes. St. Bonaventure University will not be responsible for costs associated with initial setup of the employee’s home office such as remodeling, furniture or lighting, nor for repairs or modifications to the home office space. Employees will be offered appropriate assistance in setting up a work station designed for safe, comfortable work.

After equipment has been delivered, a designated representative of St. Bonaventure University will visit the employee’s home work site to inspect for possible work hazards and suggest modifications. Repeat inspections will occur on an as-needed basis. Injuries sustained by the employee while at their home work location and in conjunction with their regular work duties are normally covered by the University’s workers’ compensation policy. Remote employees are responsible for notifying the employer of such injuries in accordance with University’s workers’ compensation procedures. The employee is liable for any injuries sustained by visitors to their work site.

St. Bonaventure University will supply the employee with appropriate office supplies (pens, paper, etc.) for successful completion of job responsibilities. The University will also reimburse the employee for all other business-related expenses such as phone calls, shipping costs, etc. that are reasonably incurred in accordance with job responsibilities.

The employee and supervisor will agree on the number of days required on campus, the work schedule (remote and on campus) the employee will customarily maintain, and the manner and frequency of communication. The employee agrees to be accessible by phone or modem within a reasonable time period during the agreed upon work schedule.

The remote employee must document to the Payroll Office, days of physical presence in New York State as required by the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance. Such days of physical presence in New York State will expose the remote employee to income taxation and withholding.

Only employees whose positions meet the exemption guidelines from the overtime requirements of the Fair labor Standards Act will be allowed to be employed as remote employees.

Before entering into any remote employment agreement, the employee and supervisor, with the assistance of the office of human resources, will evaluate the suitability of such an arrangement paying particular attention to the following areas:

Employee Suitability – the employee and supervisor will assess the needs and work habits of the employee, compared to traits customarily recognized as appropriate for successful remote employees.

Job Responsibilities – the employee and manager will discuss the job responsibilities and determine if the job is appropriate for a telecommuting arrangement.

Equipment needs, work space design considerations and scheduling issues.

Tax and other legal implications for the business use of the employee’s home based on IRS and state and local government restrictions. Responsibility for fulfilling all obligations in this area rests solely with the employee.

If the employee and Supervisor agree, and the Senior Vice President for Finance and Administration concurs, a draft remote employment agreement will be prepared and signed by all parties and a 3 month trial period will commence.

Evaluation of the remote employee’s performance during the trial period will include daily interaction by phone and e-mail between the employee and the supervisor, and weekly face-to-face meetings to discuss work progress and problems. At the conclusion of the trial period the employee and supervisor will each complete an evaluation of the arrangement and make recommendations for continuance or modifications. Evaluation of the remote employee’s performance beyond the trial period will be consistent with that received by employees working on campus in both content and frequency but will focus on work output and completion of objectives rather than time-based performance.

An appropriate level of communication between the remote employee and supervisor will be agreed to as part of the discussion process and will be more formal during the trial period. After conclusion of the trial period, the supervisor and remote employee will communicate at a level consistent with employees working on campus and frequency that seems appropriate for the job and the individuals involved.

Remote employment is NOT designed to be a replacement for appropriate child care. Although an individual employee’s schedule may be modified to accommodate child care needs, the focus of the arrangement must remain on job performance and meeting business demands. Prospective remote employees are encouraged to discuss expectations of remote employment with family members prior to entering into a trial period.

Employees entering into a remote employment agreement may be required to forfeit use of a personal office or work station in favor of a shared arrangement to maximize organization office space needs.

In certain limited circumstances, St. Bonaventure University may contract with an office space provider to meet the needs of employees who wish to be a remote employee but who do not have appropriate home office space, or for groups of employees whose proximity to the University and to each other makes such an arrangement feasible.

A remote employee’s benefits will be the same as an individual employed on campus. Should the remote employee maintain a home office or satellite office which is outside the health insurance network of physicians, the remote employee may be offered enrollment in the Traditional Health Insurance plan (if available to employees on campus) at the premium rate for the least expensive health insurance plan.

The availability of remote employment as a flexible work arrangement for employees of St. Bonaventure University can be discontinued at any time at the discretion of the employer. Every effort will be made to provide 30 days notice of such a change to accommodate commuting, child care and other problems that may arise from such a change. There may be instances, however, where no notices is possible.

06/24/08