402-5-C.htm - Flexible Workplace Arrangements

*Title:*	Flexible Workplace Arrangements

*Number:*	402.5-CSREES

*Date:*	February 2, 2000

*Originating Office:*	Human Resources Division, Office of the Director, AFM/ARS

*This Replaces:*	CSREES memorandum titled CSREES Temporary Work-at- Home Arrangement dated March 27, 1996

*Distribution:*	All CSREES Employees

This P&P provides the procedure for obtaining approval for employees to perform official work for compensation in their homes or other similar alternative locations in particular situations.

1. Introduction

This P&P provides Flexible Workplace Program (FWP) guidance and procedures enabling employees to work at home or locations other than their official duty station. It is based on the pilot program sponsored by the President's Council on Management Improvement in
January 1990. This supersedes the flexiplace policy articulated in the memorandum, dated
March 27, 1996, subject: CSREES Temporary Work-at-Home Arrangement.

2. Policy

There are three kinds of flexible work programs available to CSREES employees:
(1) infrequent/short term, (2) temporary work-at-home, and (3) medical/disability. Employees may be authorized to work at home or other appropriate worksites if all of the following conditions are met:

The employee or supervisor may terminate the agreement at any time. Participation in the flexible work program is not a right of the employee. Because this is a management option, there is no automatic right of the employee to continue in the program if there is a change in supervision. CSREES executive management is responsible for deciding if the position is appropriate for offsite work. For an employee to be considered, they should have: (1) a history showing reliability and responsibility in the performance of their duties; (2) ability to establish priorities and manage time; (3) worked in CSREES for at least 1 year immediately prior to participation and received fully successful or higher performance ratings; and (4) work that lends itself to successful accomplishment at the alternative worksite.

Management retains the right to have the employee report to the official duty station on days that the employee would normally work at the alternative work site. This does not give the employee the right to work at the alternative worksite on another day. Also an agreement covering a time period longer than 2 weeks will require the employee to work at the official duty station 1 designated day each week unless there is a specific exception due to hardship.

Short term arrangements may be used in situations where a person needs up to 2 weeks of uninterrupted time to perform a specified task and the person's presence is not required at the official workplace. Work time outside the office may be for a period as agreed upon by thesupervisor and the employee. Authorizing officials are responsible for ensuring that short term alternative worksite arrangements are used judiciously, and that work performed outside the office meets established norms for quantity and quality. Since these arrangements are of such short duration, the extensive requirements articulated in the attached FWP agreement is an unnecessary administrative burden. For this reason, a simple memorandum signed by employee, supervisor, and DA/AA, confirming the voluntary nature of and the reason for the arrangement, and identifying the performance expectations, will suffice.

Non-work related factors (such as presence in the home required for repairs, dependent care, concerns about painting in the office, etc.) are not to be considered in the decision to authorize a short term alternate work site arrangement.

Temporary work at home agreements not to exceed 4 months may be approved in situations when the following three conditions are met: (1) an employee needs to stay at home for a limited period of time for the reasons outlined in the Family and Medical Leave Act; (2) the employee is able to work and desires to work; and (3) it is in the Agency's interest that the person continue to work. The 4-month period may be extended by the CSREES Administrator in rare circumstances, if it is in the Agency's, as well as the employee's interests. If children or dependents are present on the worksite, arrangements for child or dependent care must be made for the period during which the person is working.

Occasionally an employee may have a serious medical condition which requires recovery at home, but is not completely disabling. A flexible workplace agreement could be approved in such a situation provided that the employee submits written medical evidence stating that the performance of assigned duties will not adversely affect the employee's health or medical condition.

Approval of an agreement under these conditions should be made judiciously and on a case-by- case basis. Consultation with the AFM Human Resources Division, Office of the Director (HRD-OD), Family/Work Life Coordinator, and, in some cases, the Department's Medical Officer, is advisable.

3. Guidelines

The supervisor should review the position description and performance standards of an employee approved for working at an alternative worksite for more than 2 weeks and make modifications as necessary. Position descriptions and performance standards do not require modification unless factors such as supervisory controls or work environment are affected. Use of an alternative worksite should not adversely affect the ability of the supervisor to direct and review the work of the participating employee. The supervisor's responsibility to supervise is not changed because an employee works at an alternative worksite.

Performance Standards. The supervisor may require a written statement of work to be performed at the worksite for given projects or periods of time, if an employee's performance standards are too general and subjective for use in certifying time and attendance. The evaluation of the employee's job performance will be based on the performance elements and standards established for the employee's position.

FWP Agreements. Flexible workplace employees will sign an agreement with CSREES management for any FWP arrangement lasting longer than 2 weeks that addresses: the voluntary nature of the arrangement, type of agreement, length of time, official duty station, alternative worksite, hours of duty, timekeeping, approval, overtime, workers compensation, performance standards, ownership, care of property, equipment and data, Government's right to inspect the home office, standards of conduct, and criteria for termination. (See Appendix A)

Time and Attendance. Proper monitoring and certification of employee work time are critical to FWP arrangements. Supervisors must review time and attendance to ensure that employees are paid only for work performed and that absences during scheduled tours of duty are accounted for. Thus, supervisors must provide reasonable assurance that employees are working when scheduled by tracking the T&A reports and by determining the reasonableness of the work output for the time spent. For example, the employees would provide a weekly/biweekly activity report or provide a list of projects that they would expect to accomplish during the arrangement.

Work Schedules. The basic work requirement at the alternative worksite, which will be specified in the FWP agreement, may vary from the basic work requirement at the official duty station, but must remain within the parameters of the Agency's tour of duty. Hours of work are addressed in P&P 402.1, “Flexible Work Schedules.”

Leave and Overtime. The work schedule, not the worksite, controls leave and overtime. The work agreement will address leave and overtime and will be governed by P&P's 402.6, “Leave,”and 402.3, “Premium Pay.” Employees will follow established office procedures for requesting and obtaining approval of leave and overtime.

Emergency Closures/Dismissals. The alternative worksite may be unaffected by emergencies that lead to closings and dismissals at the official duty station. If work can proceed at an alternative duty station, then employees may not be excused from duty just because employees at the official duty station have been dismissed or excused from reporting. Employees may be granted excused absences for worksite emergencies that begin after the employee begins working, e.g., a power outage. Similar occurrences that start well before the work period begins can be handled by granting annual leave, rescheduling the work, or having the employee report to the official duty station.

Worker's Compensation. Employees are covered by the Federal Employees Compensation Act (FECA) and may qualify for continuation of pay (COP) or worker's compensation for an on-the- job injury or occupational illness.

Freedom of Information and Privacy Acts and Data Confidentiality Regulations. Employees with access to records subject to these Acts must maintain appropriate administrative, technical, and physical safeguards to ensure the security of the records. Regulations on maintaining the confidentiality and security of data must be followed.

Worksite Space. All alternative worksite arrangements require the employee to have a specific area which is adequate for the performance of the employee's official duties. The employee must have a telephone to facilitate communication with anyone needing to contact him/her. The alternative worksite must be free of interruptions. An employee must not use duty time for any purpose other than official duties.

Equipment. Equipment requirements are assignment dependent and must be addressed in the work agreement. In order to use Government owned property, a checklist must be completed and signed by the employee and the Accountable Property Officer. Consequently, the property must be properly inventoried. The employee will also have to have a property pass in order to take the Government owned property from the primary office to the alternative worksite. It is the employee's responsibility to return Agency owned equipment to the official duty station for repair. If Government owned property is not available, it is the responsibility of the employee to provide any and all necessary equipment for the sole purpose of working at an alternative worksite since CSREES will not consider payment of expenses for this purpose. CSREES will not pay for repair of employee owned equipment.

Utility Expenses. CSREES will not pay any portion of an employee's utility expenses, including installation and usage charge. If continuous access to the LAN is required, then a second telephone line will be mandatory, but the expense will not be incurred by CSREES. CSREESmay provide employees with telephone calling cards to be used for work related long distance charges.

4. Procedures

Approval Process. Employee participation is voluntary and subject to management approval. The employee must request to participate in the program. Management cannot require an employee to participate. The employee should submit a request through their supervisor to the appropriate Deputy Administrator or Associate Administrator as indicated under Section 2 of this P&P. A decision will be based on the nature of the work to be performed and whether the supervisor is willing to supervise under such an arrangement. The decision to approve or disapprove the request at this level will be final. Once a decision is made, a copy of the approved/disapproved request will be forwarded to HRD-OD for record keeping purposes.

Length of Agreement. The length for infrequent and short term arrangements should be no longer than the actual time required to perform the specified task. Temporary work at home agreements will not exceed 4 months unless an exception is approved by the Administrator. Medical/disability agreements will be limited to the identified recovery period unless formally extended. The agreement may be modified at any time.

Termination of Agreement. Either the employee or the supervisor may terminate participation in the arrangement by giving 2 weeks' notice prior to the start of the pay period in which the termination of agreement is effected. Management has the right to remove the employee from the program if the employee's performance declines or if the agreement fails to benefit organizational needs. Under circumstances where disciplinary action may be appropriate, supervisors may terminate the arrangement immediately or as soon as it is practical to do so.

5. Summary of Responsibilities

6. Glossary

Alternative Worksite. Any location other than the official duty station at which an employee is designated to work while not at the official duty station.

Basic Work Requirement. The number of hours, excluding overtime hours, employees are required to work or to account for by charging leave, credit hours, excused absence, holiday hours, compensatory time off, or time off as an award.

Continuation of Pay (COP). Under Workman's Compensation, the 90 days the Department of Labor reimburses the Agency for the employees' paid time off due to an occupational injury.

Family & Medical Leave Act (FMLA). The employee entitlement is for any of the following reasons: Birth of a child and care of the newborn (within 1 year of birth); placement of a child with the employee for adoption or foster care (within 1 year after placement); care for those of a family relationship with a serious health condition; or a serious health condition that prevents the employee from performing essential duties. Additional information is in P&P 402-6, “Leave.”

Official Duty Station. The “regular” Federal office is the official duty station for the purposes of flexible workplace arrangements. It is also the official duty station for the purposes of locality-based comparability payment, special salary rates, travel allowances, and relocation expenses based on duty station.

Tour of Duty. The limits set by agencies within which employees must complete their basic work requirements.

The following constitutes an agreement on the terms and conditions of the FWP arrangement between CSREES and (the employee)

______________________________________________________________________
(Name) (Work Unit)

1.     Employee initiates the request to participate in the flexible workplace program and to     adhere to the applicable guidelines and policies. CSREES concurs with the employee participation and agrees to adhere to the applicable guidelines and policies.

2.    Type of agreement:
    .    Infrequent/short term___    Identify Project:___________________________
    .    Temporary Work At Home ___
    .    Medical/disability___

3.    Employee agrees to participate for a period (the maximum is 4 months):
    beginning _______________________ and ending _____________________________

4.    Employee's tour of duty at the official duty station will be
    from ____________________________ to ____________________________________
    on the following days: ____________________________________________________
    (e.g., 0830 to 1700 on Monday through Friday).

    Employee's tour of duty at the alternative worksite will be
    from ____________________________ to ____________________________________
    on the following days: _____________________________________________________

5.     Employee's official duty station is Washington, DC/Beltsville, MD (select as appropriate).

    Employee's alternative worksite is:
    ________________________________________________________________________
    ________________________________________________________________________
    ________________________________________________________________________

    Describe the designated work area in the alternative worksite:
    ________________________________________________________________________
    ________________________________________________________________________
    ________________________________________________________________________

6. Employee's most recent performance rating of record must be at least fully successful.

7. All pay, leave, and travel entitlements will be based on employee's official duty station.

8. Employee's timekeeper will have a copy of employee's schedule. Employee's time and attendance will be recorded as performing official duties at the official duty station.

9.    Employee must obtain supervisory approval before taking leave in accordance with      established office procedures. By signing this form, employee agrees to follow established procedures for requesting and obtaining approval of leave.

10.    Employee will continue to work in pay status while working at the alternative worksite.      If employee works overtime that has been ordered and approved in advance, the employee will be compensated in accordance with applicable laws and regulations.

11.    If employee is issued Government equipment, employee is accountable for the proper use and care of it. Employee may be held financially responsible when Government property is lost, stolen, or damaged due to carelessness and negligence. An employee's liability will depend upon all the circumstances surrounding each use. Government owned equipment will be serviced and maintained by the Government. If the employee provides his/her own equipment, the employee is responsible for servicing and maintaining it.

12.    By signing this agreement, the employee certifies that the home work area is safe, free of obstructions and hazardous materials, and in compliance with building codes. Provided employee is given at least 8 work hours advance notice, employee agrees to permit the Government to periodically inspect the employee's alternative worksite during employee's normal working hours. Inspections are to be done to ensure proper maintenance of Government-owned property and worksite conformance with safety standards and other specifications in these guidelines.

13.    The Government will not be liable for damages to an employee's personal or real property during the course of performance of official duties or while using Government equipment in the employee's residence, except to the extent the Government is held liable by Federal Tort Claims Act or claims arising under the Military Personnel and Civilian Employee Claims Act.

14.    By participating in this program the employee does not relinquish any entitlement of reimbursement for authorized expenses incurred while conducting business for the      Government, as provided for by statute and implementing regulations.

15.    Employee is covered under the Federal Employee's Compensation Act if injured in the course of actually performing official duties at the official duty station or the alternative      worksite. Any accident or injury occurring at the alternative worksite must be brought     to the immediate attention of the supervisor. Because an employment related accident     sustained by an employee may occur outside the premises of the official duty station, the      supervisor must investigate all reports immediately following notification.

16.    Employee will complete all assigned work according to work procedures mutually agreed     upon by employee and supervisor and according to guidelines and standards stated in the     employee's performance plan.

17. Employee's current performance plan contains performance standards covering work completed at the official duty station as well as work completed at the alternative work site.

18. Employee's job performance will be evaluated on the basis of criteria determined by the performance elements and standards and statement of work.

19. Employee will adhere to P&P 158.1, “Freedom of Information Act and Privacy Act Guidelines,” with respect to the safeguarding and release of information.

20. Either employee or supervisor may terminate participation in this Agreement at any time. Management has the right to remove employee from the Agreement if the employee's performance declines or if the Agreement fails to benefit organizational needs. Such removal must be accomplished in accordance with Agreement guidelines.

21. Employee agrees to limit performance of officially assigned duties to the official duty station or to the approved alternative worksite. Failure to comply with this provision may result in loss of pay, termination of the arrangement, and/or other appropriate disciplinary action.

________________________________________________________________ _____________
Employee Date

________________________________________________________________ _____________
Supervisor Date

________________________________________________________________ _____________
DA/AA Date