Procedure: Work Away

PROCEDURE FOR TELEWORKING

Teleworking is a management option that allows eligible employees to telework from home or other remote locations for one or more days per week, month, or selected time period. Teleworking offers a more productive working environment with fewer distractions which results in better job performance, employee morale and job satisfaction, reduced absenteeism and sick leave usage. Teleworking also helps retain valued employees and recruit top quality people.

The purpose of this procedure is to define the teleworking program and the guidelines and rules under which it will operate. There are significant economic, personal, and production benefits of telework. This policy is designed to help managers and employees understand the teleworking environment.

1. Definitions

Eligible Position – A position having measurable quantitative or qualitative results-oriented standards of performance that is structured to be performed independently of others and with minimal need for support and can be scheduled at least one day a pay period to participate in teleworking without impacting service quality or organizational operations. The eligibility of a position may change depending on circumstances.

Eligible Employee – An employee, in an eligible position, who has been employed in the department for a minimum of six months; is in an eligible position; and has been identified by the employee’s supervisor as satisfactorily meeting performance standards, terms, and conditions of employment of their position. The employee shall have no active formal disciplinary actions on file for the current or immediately preceding review period.

Primary Workplace – The teleworker's usual and customary workplace.

Alternate Workplace – A work site other than the employee's usual and customary worksite (primary workplace). The alternate workplace may include the employee's home, a satellite office, or a telework center.

Telework Center – A facility that offers office-like workstations and electronic equipment that may be used by state agencies to house teleworking employees.

Teleworker – A person who for at least one or more days in a particular pay period works at home, a satellite office, or a telework center to produce an agreed upon work product. All teleworkers should complete the telework agreement and training. A teleworker is not a mobile worker.

Occasional Teleworker – A teleworker, who with the approval of their supervisor, works at home on an infrequent basis. Approval is usually task or project specific and normally approved at least the day before the employee teleworks. Occasional teleworkers do not telework on a scheduled basis. For the purpose of this policy, occasional teleworkers are considered teleworkers.

Teleworking – Working at a location other than the employee's usual and customary workplace.

Teleworking Agreement – The signed document that outlines the understanding between the agency and the employee regarding the teleworking arrangement.


2. Responsibilities
Telework may not be suitable for all employees and/or positions. The agency shall implement teleworking as a work option for certain eligible employees based on specific criteria and procedures consistently applied throughout the agency.

The Department will:


The Manager/Supervisor will:


Employees participating will:


3. Teleworking Agreement:
The teleworking agreement documents the mandatory policies in effect and results of any other agreements between the supervisor and the teleworker. The agreement must be signed by both parties prior to the start of teleworking agreeing that both parties will abide by the terms and conditions of teleworking. The agreement must be reviewed and renewed at least annually to ensure that the guidelines for participating in the program indicate continued eligibility and are well understood. A supervisor may elect to revise the agreement when a need arises. In addition, the teleworking agreement should be reviewed and revised if necessary when there is a change in supervisor, job responsibilities, or change in work circumstances or performance.

The agreement is essential to the management and legal protection needed in teleworking.

The agreement shall cover topics including but not limited to the following:

Employee performance expectations and monitoring;

Liability and workers compensation – employee and employer understand who is liable and for what;

Safety – the employee must self-certify that the alternate workplace is safe and conducive to work (see sample in Attachment C);

Equipment – responsibility and use of personal and state equipment at home and inventory of state equipment used outside the primary workplace;

Security – taking records away from the office and accessing information over the Internet (see section 9 of this policy);

Work schedule – when and where the employee will telework and procedures for overtime and leave approvals;

Accessibility – how the employee will keep in communication with clients, co-workers, supervisors, and those the employee may supervise while teleworking; and

Expectations of the supervisor and employee – terminating the agreement, reimbursement of expenses, and standards of conduct.

The employee acknowledges by signing the agreement that he or she has read and agreed to the terms of this policy and the items listed in the agreement. Any employee who teleworks must sign a Telework Agreement. An example of an agreement is included in Attachment A.

4. Employee Participation
Offering the opportunity to work at home or another alternate workplace is a management option and is not an employee right. An employee’s participation in the state’s teleworking program is entirely voluntary. The employee, supervisor, or manager may terminate teleworking without cause. Teleworking is a work arrangement between an individual employee and his/her supervisor. A supervisor has no authority to require an employee to telework unless it was a condition of employment or a requirement of the job description.

The teleworkers’ conditions of employment with the state remain the same as for non-teleworking state employees. Employee salary, benefits, and employer-sponsored insurance coverage will not change as a result of teleworking. The employee shall adhere to all policies, rules, and regulations of the agency and state while teleworking.

Self-Assessment: A successful teleworker has particular traits, a job suitable for telework and a telework site that’s conducive to work. A self-assessment helps an employee interested in teleworking decide whether telework is right for him or her. The employee will be provided a self–assessment form as part of the application to telework. A sample self-assessment is provided in Attachment B.

Work Space Self-Certification: As a condition of permission to telework, the employee must verify that home facilities used for telework purposes are safe and suitable for purposes of the employee’s work. The agency may deny an employee the opportunity to telework if the alternate worksite is not conducive to productive work. A self-certification checklist will be provided to the employee as part of the application to telework. The checklist is necessary to reduce the state’s exposure to risk and liability and helps the employee know if his or her alternate workplace is conducive to productive work. A sample checklist is included in Attachment C.

The agreement, the employee self-assessment and work space self-certification shall be kept in the Personnel Office.

An employee must have the willingness of his/her supervisor to perform the necessary supervisory responsibilities required for teleworking.

The employee agrees not to conduct personal business while in official duty status at the alternate workplace.

5. Work Space and Work Hours
A defined workspace and defined core work hours are necessary (1) to reduce the state’s exposure to risk, (2) to facilitate proper management of teleworkers, and (3) to ensure work is done in a productive environment.

Work Space: The employee shall maintain a clean, safe workspace that is adequate for work and free of obstructions and distractions. To ensure that productive working conditions exist, it may be necessary for agency personnel to make on-site visits at mutually agreed-upon times. However, this will be handled by the agency on a case-by-case basis. The teleworker shall designate a specific workspace at the alternate workplace and will conduct work for the agency from that location.

Work Hours: Each employee that teleworks shall develop a work schedule with the employee’s supervisor, and the employee’s supervisor must agree in advance to any changes to the employee’s work schedule (a sample work schedule is provided in Attachment A). Employees subject to mandatory overtime must obtain approval from their supervisor before performing overtime. A non-exempt employee working overtime without such approval may cause the agency to terminate the teleworking option and/or take other appropriate action. The employee must obtain approval in advance from his or her supervisor before taking leave during a designated telework day. The work schedule shall be subject to change at the discretion of the employee’s supervisor whenever the employee’s presence is deemed necessary for participation in meetings, conferences, training, etc.

The employee must maintain contact with the office as specified in the work schedule, agency policy, and telework agreement.

An employee’s activities outside the time of work or outside the place designated for work will be deemed to be in the employee’s own personal time and place, unconnected with work activities.

6. Training
Successful teleworking programs require management support in order to succeed. Specific management practices such as the ability to manage by results and skill in setting and communicating clear goals are essential. Managers will be trained to effectively manage employees that telework. Management buy-in is the single most important prerequisite for the success of any teleworking program. The State Telework Coordinator will serve as a resource for training program curriculum and content.

7. Telework Coordination
Agency Telework Coordinator. The Agency shall designate a Telework
Coordinator who is responsible for the day-to-day coordination and management
of the agency’s teleworking program. The Agency Telework Coordinator will
oversee the teleworking program including compliance with policies, procedures,
and guidelines and will report the results of telework in the agency to the
Statewide Telework Coordinator.

8. Equipment and Supplies
Office supplies (e.g. pens and paper) shall be provided by the agency and should be obtained during the teleworker’s in-office work period.

The employee is expected to use his or her own furniture, telephone lines, and other equipment. Any use of private facilities of the employee will be at the employee’s discretion and not at the behest or expense of the state. This applies to all physical improvements and conveniences as well as services.

In no situation should state owned equipment be installed in an employee’s home. Agencies, however, may give written permission for certain equipment, for example computers and pagers, to be checked out and used at the alternate worksite. As agency equipment is the property of the state, agencies must retain the responsibility for the inventory and maintenance of state-owned property following state laws and procedures.

9. Security and Access to Information
The teleworker is responsible for maintaining confidentiality and security at the alternate workplace, as the teleworker would at the primary work place. The employee must protect the security and integrity of data, information, paper files, and access to agency computer systems. State Information Technology policy and Internet and technology use policies apply to teleworking, as they would in the primary work place.

10. Expenses And Compensable Time
An employee may work from his/her home or another alternate work site that has been approved by the employer. Mileage between the home and the employee's assigned office or telework center shall be considered commute mileage and not subject to reimbursement.

Work related long distance phone calls should be planned for in-office days. At the discretion of the supervisor, expenses for business related long distance calls and cell phone calls, which must be made from a teleworker's home, may be reimbursed if the reasons and costs for the calls are documented. The teleworker is responsible for the cost of maintenance, repair, and operation of personal equipment not provided by the state.

11. Liability
The employee’s home workspace when used for telework is an extension of the agency workspace. The state’s liability for job-related accidents will continue to exist during the approved work schedule and in the employee’s designated work location. The teleworker is covered under the State's Workers' Compensation Law for injuries occurring in the course of the actual performance of official duties at the alternate workplace.

If an injury occurs during teleworking work hours, then the employee shall immediately report the injury to the supervisor. The employee, supervisor, and agency shall follow the state's policies regarding the reporting of injuries for employees injured while at work.

The State of Georgia is not responsible for any injuries to family members, visitors, and others in the employee’s home. The teleworker may not have business guests at the alternate workplace or any other location except the agency’s offices.

To the extent permitted by law, the employee will not attempt to hold the state responsible or liable for any loss or liability in any way connected to the employee's non-work related use of his or her own home.

The teleworker is responsible for contacting the teleworker’s insurance agent and a tax consultant and consulting local ordinances for information regarding home workplaces.

12. Child and Dependent Care
Teleworking is not a substitute for childcare or dependent care. The teleworker shall continue to make arrangements for child or dependent care to the same extent as if the teleworker was working at the main office.

13. Program Reporting and Evaluation
Employee agrees to participate in studies, inquiries, reports or analyses relating to teleworking at the agency’s direction.

14. Renewal of Telework Agreements
The teleworker agreement should be discussed and renewed at least annually, whenever there is a major job change (such as a promotion), or whenever the teleworker or supervisor changes positions. Because teleworking was selected as a feasible work option based on a combination of job characteristics, employee characteristics, and supervisor characteristics, a change in any one of these elements may require a review of the teleworking arrangement.

15. Inclement Weather
If the existing or imminent weather conditions are sufficiently severe to warrant not opening, opening late, or closing early an office or work place, employees directly affected by such conditions shall be excused from duty without loss of pay or use of leave. Obviously weather conditions would not affect a teleworker who is scheduled to work from his home office. Therefore, the teleworker shall be expected to complete his normally assigned work duty

16. Exception to the Procedure
In extenuating circumstances, the Commissioner, at his discretion, may grant an employee an exception to this procedure if (1) the supervisor recommends an exception, (2) the quality and quantity of the employee’s work does not decline, and (3) if the exception will not cause a disruption to the productivity and work flow of the agency or division.

 

Attachments:
A. Telework Agreement (MS Word)
B. Telework Self-assessment (MS Word)
C. Telework Self-Certification (MS Word)
D. Telework Selection Criteria (MS Word)
Governor's Executive Order (PDF file)

COMPRESSED WORK WEEK, ALTERNATE WORK
SCHEDULE AND FLEXIBLE WORK SCHEDULE

The Department of Technical and Adult Education believes there are significant economic, personal, and production benefits that may be obtained by providing employees alternatives to the usual work week of five, eight-hour days. This policy is designed to help managers and employees understand Variable Working Hours and their associated rights and responsibilities. This policy provides a general framework. It does not attempt to address the special conditions and needs of all technical colleges.

Compressed Work Week – A work week made up of four ten-hour work days with fixed hours each work day, plus a lunch break. The lunch period may be of 30, 45 or 60 minute duration.


Approval of a request is subject to business needs of the work unit and may be rescinded at any time that the business needs change. Each request for a Four Day Work Week schedule shall be approved by the employee’s supervisor/director.

Advanced written approval shall be required for any employee to work a Four Day Work Week in lieu of the standard five day work week. This advance approval must be obtained prior to the beginning of any change in scheduled hours.

The employee must complete a Four Day Work Week Schedule Agreement.

Employees whose performance is considered to be less than ‘Meets Expectations’ may not be eligible for a Four Day Work Week schedule.

Subject to prior approval of the supervisor/director, the scheduled off day during a work week may be changed on a temporary or permanent basis.

Alternate Work Schedule – A work week made up of nine-hour days, one eight-hour day and one off day in every two week period, with fixed work hours within the period, plus a lunch break.

Each employee working this schedule will have a unique work week. The work week is defined by the employee’s off day. It begins and ends mid day on the day approved as the off day. All normal work days, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, must be utilized as the off day when establishing this schedule. Each manager is responsible for setting work schedules to ensure that each employee is scheduled for the correct number of hours in each work week. Non-exempt employees must take the same day off every two weeks to ensure that they do not work more than 40 hours in a workweek. Exempt staff can use a pre-set schedule or establish a schedule based upon unit workloads.

Each manager is responsible to ensure that Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) regulations in regard to work are adhered to when scheduling covered employees. Contact the personnel office if there are any questions about an employee’s work schedule.

Work hours for a nine hour day are as follows:

7:00 AM – 4:45 PM
7:15 AM – 5:00 PM
7:30 AM – 5:15 PM
7:45 AM – 5:30 PM
8:00 AM – 5:45 PM
8:15 AM – 6:00 PM
8:30 AM – 6:15 PM
8:45 AM – 6:30 PM
9:00 AM – 6:45 PM
9:15 AM – 7:00 PM

Work hours for the eight hour day will be determined by the manager.

Refer to the example below:

SUN MON TUES WED THUR FRI SAT
9 10
4 hrs previous
week; 4 hrs
current week 		11
9 hours 		12
9 hours 		13
9 hours 		14
9 hours 		15
16 17
OFF DAY 		18
9 hours 		19
9 hours 		20
9 hours 		21
9 hours 		22
23 24
4 hrs previous
week; 4 hrs
current week 		25
9 hours 		26
9 hours 		27
9 hours 		28
9 hours 		29

Approved off day is Monday.

The first work week begins mid-day Monday, May 10th, and ends mid-day Monday, May 17th. The second work week begins mid-day Monday, May 17th, and ends mid-day Monday, May 24th.

Annual and sick leave usage must match the alternate schedule. For example, if the employees is scheduled to work 9 hour sand is ill and cannot report to work, he will need to submit a leave request for 9 hours of sick leave.

Flexible Work Schedule – A five-day forty hour work week made up of hours other than the standard 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. work day. This concept allows employees to work an 8 hour schedule within limits of a “core” period of, for example, 6:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. The first requirement here is that key position(s) always be staffed during the official work hours of 8:00 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. Managers may permit employees to choose a schedule starting and ending an hour or half-hour apart, “staggering” arrival times, but requiring all employees to be present during specified core hours of the day.

Employees are given the opportunity to request their preferred work schedule and hours. However, the supervisor and/or the president will make the final determination. When establishing flexible schedules it must be remembered to provide reasonable customer access to staff, staff access to customers, effective work outcomes and excellent service delivery. Approval of flexible schedules will be based on several factors, including staffing needs, adherence to the provisions of the Fair Labor Stands Act and accessibility to managers, customers and co-workers. Reasonable effort will be made to accommodate employees’ requests whenever individual preferences do not interfere with the accomplishment of the objectives of the organization. Seniority, job performance and/or other work-related factors may be considered when making individual determinations.

References

Policy III. Q. Normal Working Schedule
Attachment A. Telework Agreement (MS Word)
Attachment B. Telework Self-assessment (MS Word)
Attachment C. Telework Self-Certification (MS Word)
Attachment D. Telework Selection Criteria (MS Word)
Governor's Executive Order (PDF file)

Created: June 2004, Revised September 16, 2004