Hybrid Work Schedule
The College recognizes the uniqueness of its workforce and aims to offer remote flexibility while remaining committed to our Student Centeredness shared value. The College values its residential student campus and therefore offices located on campus are required to be open, in person, each day, during normal work hours. This policy outlines guidelines for employees who are not considered exclusively remote workers by the terms of employment and job description. Many positions are not appropriate or feasible for remote work. The College reserves the sole right and discretion to determine whether positions and individual employees are approved for a remote work arrangement.
Employees may be given the option to work remotely on an incidental, temporary, or limited basis depending on office requirements.
Remote work does not change the terms and conditions of your employment with Keuka College.
Guidelines
To be eligible for a remote work arrangement, the employee’s job tasks must be able to be performed efficiently and effectively while telecommuting. Remote work arrangements will have no impact on an employee’s compensation or benefits.
In evaluating remote work arrangements, management will consider several factors, including but not limited to:
- needs of the College, department, curriculum, and students, including but not limited to staffing needs and work distribution, student access to the employee, collaboration with others in person, etc.;
- the value and necessity of any in-person meetings, collaboration, and performance of duties;
- whether the functions of the position can be efficiently and effectively performed remotely;
- the employee’s prior performance and disciplinary history;
- any other legitimate business reason.
Several positions can be performed fully-remotely. Some positions may not be suitable for remote work at all because the duties of the position must all be performed on-site. Other positions can be performed remotely but will require some in-person duties. Ultimately, it is the discretion of the supervisor, subject to upper management approval, to grant an employee approval to work remotely.
In general, employees should not work more than two days remotely per workweek. Employees should be working on campus more frequently than they are working off campus.
Employees should work with their supervisor to develop a remote work arrangement schedule that is tailored to maximize efficiency of operations.
Upon approval of a remote work arrangement, the following basic requirements must be followed:
- Employee must be able to efficiently carry out their same duties, assignments, and other work tasks while working remotely.
- Employees are required to meet all performance expectations of their position.
- Employees must adhere to all College workplace policies, rules, directives, and procedures. College workplace policies, including but not limited to the College’s policy against sexual harassment, unlawful harassment, retaliation, and discrimination, continue to apply during remote work as if the employee were working on-site.
- Employees must attend scheduled meetings and participate in other mandatory or necessary activities as directed.
- Employees are expected to maintain open and clear communication with their direct supervisor and/or other members of management or team, as appropriate. This requires collaboration and clear communication regarding working hours and availability.
- Employees must be available, reachable, and engaged in productive work during their regularly scheduled work hours or as otherwise agreed upon with their supervisor.
- Employees must maintain good communication practices with clients consistent with their job duties, responsibilities, and expectations, including but not providing limited timely responses and deliverables.
- Non-exempt employees are prohibited from working beyond their regularly scheduled hours or work any overtime without prior written approval from their direct supervisor. If a non-exempt employee must adjust their working time to accommodate the needs of a client or other business related reason, they must notify their supervisor in writing ahead of time and accurately record all hours worked.
- Employees are not permitted to use the availability of working remotely in lieu of other appropriate leave time, including but not limited to vacation, personal, sick, or other paid or unpaid time-off. If an employee is unable to perform work on any day, the employee is required to comply with applicable time-off policies and “call-in” procedures (e.g., communicate with their supervisor that they will be “offline” and/or “unavailable” that day for any particular reason).All remote employees must still track days that they take off in accordance with College policies and procedures.
Equipment and Office Supplies
Most employees will not be provided with equipment to perform their job remotely. However, the College will determine, in its sole discretion, whether any additional appropriate equipment is necessary for the employee to work remotely (such as hardware, software, laptop/computer setup, phone headset, and any other office equipment or supplies). This should be done in consultation with the College’s IT Department. Equipment supplied by the College is College owned property and must be treated as such. Employees must promptly notify their supervisor/manager if College owned property is in need of any repairs, or if there are any other issues with the equipment. In the event that any College owned property is lost or stolen, employees must immediately notify their supervisor. This is absolutely critical in light of security and data privacy concerns.
Employees that are not provided with College equipment will be approved to use their own equipment. The College is not liable or responsible for any damage or repairs to employee-owned equipment.
Reasonable supplies necessary for the performance of the employee’s job duties may be approved by a supervisor. Generally, however, the College does not provide office-supplies or other supplies. The College may reimburse employees for specific supplies that are pre-approved if the College believes such supplies are necessary, in its sole discretion. Employees are prohibited from taking supplies or using supplies for personal non-work or College related purposes.
The College does not provide reimbursement for other resources that may be necessary for remote work, including but not limited to a personal computer/laptop, internet, electricity, cellphones, etc., unless otherwise required by applicable state law.
Employees are reminded that all College policies still apply during remote work, including policies regarding email and electronic communications.
Working Time
Non-exempt employees must track all working hours and report them in accordance with College policy and procedure. Non-exempt employees are prohibited from working beyond their regularly scheduled work time or working any overtime unless otherwise approved in advance by their supervisor in writing. While it may be easy or convenient non-exempt employees to check emails, answer phone calls, or do other work from home during off-hours, the College explicitly prohibits any non-exempt employee from “working off the clock.” Accordingly, unless absolutely necessary, non-exempt employees must refrain from doing any work, including checking emails, making or receiving work related phone calls, during non-work time absent approval from their supervisor. If a situation arises that requires immediate assistance or performance of some job duties during non-working time, a non-exempt employee should make reasonable efforts to promptly notify their supervisor. If the non-exempt employee is unable to reach their supervisor before starting the work, they may perform the work but must track all of their time worked, report it to their supervisor as soon as practicable and report that time worked in accordance with College policies and procedures to ensure that they are paid for that time. Failure to properly follow these expectations, policies, and procedures may result in appropriate personnel action.
Connectivity
If an employee experiences disruption or connectivity issues during while working remotely (internet availability, electricity, phone line issues), network problems, or hardware issues, they must immediately notify their supervisor and/or team (as appropriate under the circumstances). Employees will be required to take available paid time off, or makeup time within the same week as coordinated and approved by their supervisor.
Security
Employees are expected to abide by the College’s expectations regarding information and data security while working remotely. Employees continue to be responsible for protection of proprietary information, confidential information, and other private information accessible from their remote worksite. Employees are responsible for taking all necessary precautions to safeguard such information. Employees should consult with the IT Department and comply with all IT policies and procedures deemed necessary by the College, including but not limited to any data privacy, cyber security, or other safety measures to protect the College’s network, systems, and confidential or sensitive information.
Remote Work Site Safety
Employees should ensure that their remote work area is safe, presentable and professional for virtual meetings. Employees are expected maintain their remote work station in a safe manner, free from hazards. Injuries sustained while working remotely and which arise out of and in the course of their employment may be covered by the College’s workers’ compensation policy. Employees are required to promptly report any injuries sustained during remote work to their direct supervisor and the Office of Human Resources in accordance with College policy.
Distraction Free and Secure Environment
Employees must also ensure that their remote workspace is reasonably quiet and free from distractions so as not to interfere with the performance of their work duties.
For several reasons, including the importance of confidentiality, cybersecurity, and to avoid distractions, employees are generally not permitted to work from public locations (cafés, public libraries, etc.) while working remotely. Employees working remotely are expected to be working from their home or other approved secure worksite. In addition, working from another state or country may have an unintended consequence of implicating other state and/or local laws, including but not limited to tax laws. Therefore, employees are not permitted to work remotely from other states or countries unless otherwise approved and signed in a writing by the Office of Human Resources. Employees must contact the Office of Human Resources if they have any concerns or issues regarding working from a location other than their residence.
The College may request a virtual inspection of a home office or approved remote worksite as required to comply with insurance requirements, other applicable occupational health and safety laws and regulations, or as otherwise deemed necessary by the College, in accordance with applicable federal, state, and local laws. The College will provide as much notice as practicable and will endeavor to conduct such inspection during the employee’s regular working hours.
Termination of Remote Work Arrangements
The College, by and through their supervisors reserves the exclusive right and discretion to terminate any remote work arrangement for any reason or no reason at all, including but not limited to performance concerns, security concerns, staffing and scheduling needs, student learning experience, misconduct, violations of this policy, or any other applicable workplace policy.
The remote work policy will be reviewed periodically, as appropriate, in the discretion of the College.
This policy is intended to be a privilege and benefit for eligible employees. Employees that need to request remote work as a reasonable accommodation should refer to the College’s reasonable accommodation policy and contact the Office of Human Resources for more information. For more information on Hybrid Work Schedules, or to learn how to request one, please contact the Office of Human Resources.