Policies & Procedures

PA3016.1 Remote Work Program Procedure – Emergency, Extraordinary or Adverse Situations

Purpose

These guidelines and procedures provide assistance to departments when establishing remote work (working from home) arrangements for employees whose responsibilities can be performed outside the traditional office setting during emergency, extraordinary or adverse situations such as due to extreme weather, a declared public emergency or a pandemic, as determined and authorized by the President of the College.

Statement of the Procedure

A supervisor or the staff member will initiate the request for temporarily working remotely for those employees required to maintain continuity of College services. Remote work arrangements are only available when approved in advance by the supervisor and may be terminated or modified by the supervisor at any time. The Remote Work written proposal shall be submitted by the employee to the Human Resources Department and must receive final written approval by the appropriate Division Vice President. The final remote work document reflecting all written approvals must be filed with the Human Resources Department prior to remote work commencing.

Related Policies

PA3016 Remote Work Program Policy – Emergency or Extraordinary Situations

To whom it applies

Campus-wide

General Guidelines

If temporary remote work is approved by the supervisor and Vice President, it is the employee’s responsibility to ensure that the following rules and requirements are met:

1. The employee adheres to the College’s rules, regulations, policies and collective bargaining agreements, and must complete required, annual trainings by Human Resources, Public Safety and IT.
2. The employee will not, with the exclusion of virtual meetings, hold physical business visits or physical meetings with colleagues, students, or the general public in their home.
3. The employee agrees to maintain appropriate safety practices during the time worked.
4. The employee assumes primary responsibility for maintaining effective communication and work flow among co-workers and students.
5. The employee shall have regularly scheduled work hours agreed upon with the supervisor, including specific core hours and telephone accessibility. Communication by telephone and electronic mail with the College must be available during work hours and voice mail and email must be checked regularly. The work schedule shall be consistent with the operational needs of the employee’s department and shall follow the same supervisory process as if work were being performed in the workplace. All assignments shall be at the express direction of the supervisor or in consultation with the supervisor.
6. If conditions permit, the employee will attend job-related meetings, training sessions and conferences, as requested by the supervisor. In addition, the employee may be required to attend meetings on short notice. Such meetings may be in-person or virtual, as directed by the supervisor.
7. All College materials such as student and college records, must be treated in confidence and maintained in a safe and secure manner and comply with college policies and procedures related to security (e.g. FERPA).
8. Prior to working from home, an employee is responsible for reviewing the “When Working From Home – Security Fact Sheet” found at https://mycollege.sunybroome.edu/web/coronavirus/home#work-from-home (“Work From Home Data Protection Guidance”). All employees are required to complete security awareness training annually.
9. All College equipment is to be kept secure and is to be used for College business only. Any equipment supplied by the College must be returned to the College upon termination of the temporary remote work arrangement. The employee is responsible for any lost or damaged College property. Any College property assigned for at home use must be inventoried and approved by the appropriate department before being removed from the College for remote work.
10. An employee in a position where overtime may be applicable must have advance written approval from his/her supervisor to work overtime.
11. All incidental costs, such as residential utility costs, cleaning, internet, office set-up and so forth are the responsibility of the employee.
12. The remote working employee will not be paid mileage involved in travel between the employee’s home or other suitable location and the employee’s assigned work location.
13. An employee who suffers a work-related injury during a remote work assignment must report the injury to the Human Resources Department as soon as possible in accordance with the College’s guidelines.
14. The College may review and revise the Remote Work Guidelines and Policies and Procedures at any time.
15. A temporary remote work arrangement may be terminated by the College at any time.
16. Employee Request for Accommodations shall be submitted in writing to the Human Resources Department and will be reviewed, a determination made and managed via the Human Resources Department on an individual, case-by-case basis.

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