Remote Work for Staff and Part Time Employees

Scope

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Policy Statement

1. in-person
2. hybrid
3. remote

For example, most research, instruction, clinical, performance, athletics, student- or public-facing activities, residence and dining, and buildings and grounds work need to occur on-campus and in-person. In some contexts, however, the mix of in-person and remote work on campuses, in academic or administrative units, and individual jobs may allow for remote work arrangements that improve productivity and flexibility, while meeting the needs of the unit and the university. Whenever possible, employees should be in-person on a regular basis, and fully remote work arrangements should be an exception.

Vibrant campuses are critically important to our students, employees, patients, visitors, and other constituents. As such, leadership is responsible for ensuring an optimal level of physical staff presence during all normal operating hours. Leaders are expected to intentionally design remote and hybrid work arrangements such that the on-campus culture and experience continues to thrive.

Hybrid or remote work is a special arrangement, subject to at least an annual review and evaluation of performance. It is a privilege and is not subject to the grievance procedure.

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Reason for Policy

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Procedures

1. DECISION-MAKING AUTHORITY
   1. Senior Executive Officers (the president, vice presidents, chancellors, the provost, and the CEO of the IU Alumni Association) make the overall decision as to whether and to what extent hybrid or remote work is an option for their respective campuses or areas of responsibility. Senior Executive Officers provide implementation guidance to unit leaders within their campuses or areas of responsibility.
   2. A Senior Executive Officer may delegate the authority to implement hybrid or remote work arrangements to a unit leader.
   3. Only a Senior Executive Officer, in consultation with the university counsel, is authorized to approve out-of-country remote work, and only if it is mission-critical.
   4. Out of state remote work arrangements require advance consultation with IU Human Resources due to differing tax and labor laws.
   5. A hybrid or remote work arrangement is not a right of employment and will not be available to all employees, either across a campus or within a unit; a remote work arrangement is at the discretion of the unit, in coordination with the unit’s Senior Executive Officer, based on operational needs and the nature of each position. Assignment of an employee to a hybrid or remote work arrangement does not set a precedent that the employee or the position will always be remote and does not serve as a point of comparison for the employees of another campus or unit, or within the employee’s own unit.
   6. The university retains the authority to modify or terminate any hybrid or remote work arrangement at its discretion.
   7. Requests for remote work as an accommodation for a disability will be addressed through the university’s accommodations request process: https://iuoie-fireform.eas.iu.edu/online/form/index/Accomform.
2. CONSIDERATIONS FOR DECISION-MAKERS
   Before the implementation of a hybrid or remote work arrangement, the decision-maker must consider the following, as well as any aspects of hybrid or remote work that are unique to the unit:
   
   1. Expectations of Hybrid or Remote Work: Hybrid and remote employees must perform the essential functions of their position at the level of productivity, efficiency, and professionalism they would have if they were in-person. The employee must devote full attention to work during the established work hours. Remote work is not a substitute for child or other dependent care. Remote employees must make or maintain childcare, adult care, or similar personal arrangements to allow the employee to focus on work assignments in the designated workspace during the established work hours.
   2. Equipment: The unit must decide what university equipment will be provided to the remote employee within these parameters:
      1. IU will provide only the equipment that is necessary and appropriate to enable remote employees to perform the functions of their positions in the remote location.  IU will not fully replicate space and equipment at on-campus and off-campus work spaces.
      2. Units and remote employees should utilize the following resources to provide the most appropriate IT equipment to meet university standards for the particular remote work arrangement (Standardized Computer Configurations at IU) and to ensure that the remote employee is informed about the broadband and other resources needed to perform all of the essential functions of the position from off-campus locations.  (Keep Working During Prolonged Campus or Building Closures and Tips for Accessing the Internet from Home for Remote Work or Learning).
      3. Remote employees should use only IU-owned IT devices that have been reviewed by departmental IT support staff for compliance with IT policies and standards (including Security of Information Technology Resources IT-12 and IT-12.1 Mobile Device Security Standard) and have an Endpoint Management tool installed.  If IU-owned IT devices are not available, users must exclusively use remote access tools such as Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (IUanyware) or Remote Desktop, etc. Keep Working provides guidance on these topics.
      4. Remote employees are responsible for ensuring that their data plan is adequate to support remote work and for any cost incurred for that data plan.  Unless required by the state law in which the remote employee works, IU will not provide or reimburse a phone (landline or cell) or data plan.
      5. Units will make the determination, in consultation with employees who are less than 100% remote, whether the IU-provided equipment will be located at their on- or off-campus location. 
         1. Employees who wish to supplement their secondary workspace may make personally funded purchases.  The remote employee should consult Standardized Computer Configurations at IU and may make privately funded purchases through Computer Guide.
         2. Remote employees should consider including business service warranties in their personal purchases such that, in the event of a failure, the equipment will be serviced within one business day so that university work can continue with minimal disruption.
         3. Specialized or high-value equipment may not be appropriate for a remote work arrangement.
      6. Units must comply with capital asset inventory requirements for any equipment that is removed from the campus location.  FIN-ACC-140, Off-Premise Capital Equipment Control. 
      7. The unit must plan for servicing, repair, and replacement of university-owned equipment.
      8. Unit leaders will make arrangements for the return of equipment upon the separation of a remote employee.
   3. Space: Dedicated, assigned on-campus space should be reserved for employees working in-person at least 3 days per week. The unit must identify appropriate on-campus space within these parameters:
      1. Employees who are 100% remote will not have exclusively assigned on-campus space.
      2. Hybrid employees will not have dedicated workspaces on campus, with the exception of those that are on campus at least 3 days a week. Instead, hoteling or designated co-working workspaces should be provided, if feasible.
         1. Some employees may need closed-door spaces for their on-campus work due to the essential functions of the position requiring confidential, 1-1 meetings. These meeting spaces may or may not be a private office; conference rooms or other appropriate closed-door space may be utilized depending on availability and unit direction.
         2. Units must consult with Capital Planning and Facilities to arrange different footprints, types of space, installation of equipment, etc.
      3. A unit’s deployment of a significant number of remote or hybrid employees may be reflected in reduced on- campus space utilization. Units may be required to report the percentage of their workforce who are working hybrid or remotely to their Senior Executive Officer and the Office of Capital Planning and Facilities regularly for space-planning purposes.
   4. Expense Reimbursement: The unit must identify what, if any, expenses will be reimbursed to the employee within these parameters:
      1. Daily mileage to/from work for employees will not be reimbursed.
      2. All other travel reimbursement will be addressed in accordance with FIN-TRV-01, Travel.
      3. IU will not reimburse and units may not provide a subsidy for a remote employee’s utilities or data plans, except in accordance with the applicable state law for remote employees who work outside the state of Indiana.
      4. Campus-specific parking options can be found at https://parking.iu.edu/contact/index.html.  IU will not reimburse and units may not provide a subsidy for a remote employee’s parking expenses.
3. DOCUMENTATION
   Before a unit implements a hybrid or remote work arrangement for an employee, the employee and their supervisor must memorialize and attest to the details of the agreement noted below via the Remote Work Arrangement (RWA):
   1. Work hours, including an articulation of whether the employees’ hours are standard (8 am–5 pm, e.g.) or flexible and whether there are "core hours" that both in-person and remote employees are required to be on task and available for meetings, etc.
   2. For employees who are working hybrid (less than 100% remote): whether in-person workdays are fixed or floating.
   3. Whether the employee will be expected to come to campus on a periodic or occasional basis for meetings, training, etc.
   4. Expectations regarding the professional representation of the university/campus/unit in terms of visual backgrounds, attire, ambient sound, and phone/video etiquette.
   5. Expectations regarding availability, responsiveness, and productivity.
   6. For non-exempt employees: Clear expectations about clock-in/clock-out, whether travel time counts as work time, etc., for purposes of compliance with Wage and Hours Laws; all hours worked must be reported, and overtime still requires advance approval by the direct supervisor.
   7. Identification with a high degree of specificity the equipment that IU will provide.
   8. Designation of remote workspace that is safe and appropriate, including sufficient and reliable internet capacity, and that will not subject the employee to interruptions or distractions.
   9. Management of institutional data: To ensure the availability and security of institutional data, IU- approved storage solutions should be used as appropriate for the relevant data classification. When hard copy material cannot be kept on campus, those materials should be stored in a location that has acceptable access control measures, such as a locked cabinet or locked office. NOTE: A locked car is not considered a secured location
   10. Staff employees working remotely must use the applicable paid time off if they are ill, providing occasional care for members of their household, or personal appointments or errands. Additionally, they must work on campus or use the applicable paid time off if they cannot work remotely because of equipment failures or utility outages. In certain instances, staff employees may be absent without pay. Part time employees do not receive paid time off. Remote employees are eligible for Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), Paid Parental Leave, and Military Leave to the same extent and under the same conditions as their on-campus counterparts.
   11. Clear understanding that:
       1. The employee must perform all the essential functions of the position, just as if the employee were working on campus.
       2. The employee understands and accepts the aspects of the hybrid or remote work arrangement as documented by the unit.
       3. IU will not reimburse or provide a subsidy for a remote employee’s utilities, broadband service, or parking.
       4. A hybrid or remote work arrangement is not a right of employment, and the university retains the authority to modify or terminate any remote work arrangement at its discretion.
4. PERIODIC REVIEW OF REMOTE WORK ARRANGEMENTS
   1. Each hybrid or remote work arrangement must be reviewed annually with regard to the effectiveness of the arrangement as well as the employee’s overall performance.
   2. Any modifications to a hybrid or remote work arrangement must be documented.
   3. At any time, the unit has the discretion to terminate the hybrid or remote work assignment and reassign the employee to work in-person.
   4. A remote employee may request to return to in-person work; however, a unit may not be able to immediately provide a dedicated workspace based on the unit’s available on-campus space.
   5. A remote employee should be given as much advance notice of the termination of the remote work arrangement as is reasonable under the circumstances, preferably at least two weeks.

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Definitions

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History

October 2022
Updated post Covid-19 pandemic to clarify the differences between in-person, hybrid and remote work arrangements. Emphasizes the need for vibrant campuses, and that, whenever possible, employees should be in-person on a regular basis, and fully remote work arrangements should be an exception.

June 2022
Updated "temporary" employee nomenclature to "part time".

May 2021
This policy was adopted on May 21, 2021.

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