DPA Telework Policy

Telework Schedule

Definitions

Regular Work Week

Employees working a standard 5 day, 40 hour week schedule have their work begin on Sunday at 12:01 a.m. and end at 12:00 midnight the following Saturday.

Telework

An employee who does not come into the office to work everyday, but works from home or another established location for a pre-established number of days. Employee must be available and accessible by phone and email during their agreed upon scheduled core business hours as determined by their approved time base.

Regular Telework Schedule

Regular telework means an established schedule of days per week or month. A regular telework schedule must be established prior to the start of the work arrangement and must be mutually agreed to by the employee and the supervisor. Any change in the agreed upon schedule must be approved by the supervisor, and when permanent, documented and appended to the Telework Agreement. The supervisor and the teleworker must take actions to prevent the teleworker from becoming isolated from office staff. Schedule changes are to be approved by the appropriate Division Chief.

An employee must forgo telework if needed in the office on a regularly scheduled telework day. The employee may be called in to the office when necessary to meet operational needs. The manager or supervisor should provide reasonable notice whenever possible. However, the employee may be required to report to the office without advance notice, as needed.

While working away from the office, employees must be accessible for communication (e.g., telephone, pager, e-mail, etc.). Specific requirements are subject to the needs of the Division as determined by the manager/supervisors and Division chief.

Full-time telework is permissible only when necessary and justified (e.g., to accommodate medical restrictions or disabilities) and depends on the needs of the job and demonstration of a clear benefit to program objectives and operations.

Casual Schedule

Employees may be allowed to telework on a temporary basis as their duty assignment permits. If the request is of a medical nature, written documentation approving the telework arrangement must be provided by a doctor or other licensed practitioner. Circumstances which may be appropriate for "casual" telework include, but are not limited to:

1. Special project work which requires a period of uninterrupted time.
2. During convalescence from injury or illness.
3. While a family member is recovering and needs in-home assistance.
4. During the last few weeks of pregnancy, and/or following the birth of a child.
5. While all reasonable commute routes are blocked (i.e., major construction, storm, or disaster).
6. Primary work site is inaccessible or uninhabitable.

Updated July 21, 2008 at 10:32 AM.