Remote Work Resources for Employees

Individuals who wish to work remotely should make a request to their direct manager. If appropriate, the manager will complete an evaluation process that consists of an assessment, proposal to leadership, and agreement with the individual. Ultimately, the ability to work remotely will be based on the needs of the business, the employee’s role and job duties, and their role within the department and organization. Hybrid work schedules will be considered as part of this process.

The University will supply, within reason including budget constraints, the required technology to ensure efficiency in working remotely if the arrangement is otherwise approved by division management. The University will not reimburse staff for the expense of office furniture, high speed internet, personal cellular phones, landline phones, fax lines, or research supplies in order to enable remote work. The University is unable to conduct an ergonomic assessment at an employee’s home, so ergonomic equipment will not be provided at home. If the employee is seeking ergonomic equipment as a reasonable accommodation due to a disability, the employee should contact the manager to initiate the accommodation process. The Remote Work Agreement will keep record of any specific arrangements between the department and the employee.

Per the University’s Remote Work Policy, when an employee is allowed to work remotely, their unit manager must evaluate the University workspace currently occupied by the employee. This evaluation will balance necessary space designated for use by the employee with reduced on-site work time. Shared spaces may be an option that departments use for staff that rotate in and out of the office.

This may vary based on the departmental space needs. It is a concept being widely discussed and implementation plans are underway in some departments.

Your department should provide you with the required technology to do your job remotely. You should talk to your manager to ensure you have the necessary equipment provided by the University. The University will not reimburse staff for the expense of personal cellular phones or landline phones in order to enable remote work.

If the employee is working hybrid, the department may choose to continue use of an office phone. If the employee is fully remote, an employee can speak to their department about unified messaging, which allows voicemail to be distributed via email, but an office phone will not be provided.

The University is unable to conduct an ergonomic assessment at an employee’s home, so ergonomic equipment will not be provided or moved from on-site locations. If an employee has a disability and needs an accommodation to be able to work from home, the employee should contact the manager to initiate the accommodation process.

The University will supply the required technology to ensure efficiency in working remotely as approved by your manager.

You should follow any departmental policies or guidelines in place with regard to virtual meetings and remote work.

Employees and leaders will identify the remote work location as part of the remote work agreement. This is where remote work should take place. Working out of state subjects the University to numerous other laws and imposes additional insurance and payroll requirements, and costs. Accordingly, all employees working, or seeking to work, outside of New York State are subject to University Policy 132, Employment of Out-of-State Residents and Establishment of Out-of-State Work Locations. Approval pursuant to Policy 132 must be procured prior to any arrangement to work remotely outside New York State. Work outside of the US where the employee remains on the University payroll is generally not supported due to the complexities of regulations imposed by other countries. Opportunities to payroll an employee through an entity in the country in question may be explored with HR, but the costs may be prohibitive. Any changes to work location – whether permanent or temporary – must be approved by your manager.

Mail and supplies will not be delivered to home addresses. They will need to be picked up on-site unless an alternate process is determined by each department. An employee should reach out to the IT/ISD Help Desk with any equipment issues. The employee may need to bring the equipment on-site for servicing as service will not take place in remote workspaces.

Your manager may be able to assign other work during this time, or make arrangements for you to work on-site. If these options are not available, you may use Paid Time Off (PTO) or vacation time.

Generally, if flu shots, health assessments, Biometric Screenings and Well-U events take place during normal work hours and employee’s attendance at such events is approved by their department manager, the employee will be paid. Attending events outside the normal work hours will be unpaid.

Daily parking passes may be purchased. Please consult the Department of Transportation website for all information related to parking.

You should be provided as much notice as possible to return to work on-site. For return from remote work to permanent on-site work we encourage leaders to give employees 4 weeks’ notice where possible. That may vary depending on the urgency of the business need. Discuss with your manager any regular meetings or instances that you will be required to be on-site throughout the year as part of your remote work agreement.

After confirming the arrangement with your manager, employees must update their status in HRMS using the directions found here.