Remote Work Policy (formerly the Telecommuting Policy) 

First and foremost, our primary commitment is to uphold the educational mission of Williams College. To do so, we expect the vast majority of jobs will require staff to primarily be on campus to serve the faculty, staff, students, alumni, and others who make up the college community.  However, we also recognize that there are jobs that lend themselves to a part-time remote work arrangement, and would like to extend flexibility where possible. The college retains the discretion to authorize or implement temporary remote work arrangements outside of this policy, including in response to extraordinary circumstances.

The Remote Work Policy is developed to guide the employee, the supervisor, the department head, senior staff, HR, and OIT through a process that is consistent and mutually beneficial to all parties involved.

Remote work is a pre-arranged, regularly scheduled, mutually agreed upon work-at-home arrangement for one or more days per week. Remote work arrangements are considered on an individual basis as the work permits. They are reviewed and evaluated periodically (not less than once per year) by the employee and the supervisor.

A written proposal must be prepared by the employee with the approval of their immediate supervisor. The proposal will be submitted to the department head. Upon approval by the department head, it will be forwarded by the department head to the department’s senior staff member, Human Resources (HR), and the Office for Information Technology (OIT). HR and OIT will submit their input on the impact of the arrangement directly to the department head and the member of senior staff.

Approval is at the discretion of the supervisor, the department head, and the member of senior staff to whom the department reports, with input from HR (and/or College Counsel) to ensure compliance with applicable labor laws.

A Remote Work Agreement will be formalized upon approval of the proposal.

Guidelines:

1. A formal schedule, specific hours and days of the week, needs to be identified and followed.
2. Remote work is a structured, on-going, work arrangement.  It is not to be used to provide care for family members nor the occasional need to work from home.
3. A review period should be established with regular, defined evaluations by both the employee and the supervisor to determine the effectiveness of the arrangement. We recommend the arrangement be reviewed annually, at a minimum. Success will be measured based on the quality of work and internal and external client feedback. The agreement can be revoked at any time by either party.
4. In the event the employee in the remote work agreement leaves the college, the agreement is terminated.
5. The supervisor reserves the right to visit the work site during the workday with prior notice to the employee.
6. Any equipment provided by the college as part of this agreement is for college purposes only. No additional equipment will be provided by OIT beyond standard deployments. This section needs to be specifically reviewed by HR and OIT.
7. The college is not responsible for expenses associated with working at home; heat, electricity, internet service, phone, printer, paper, office supplies, etc.
8. The employee is responsible for the security of all college-related information. Confidentiality policies at the college are also in effect at the home worksite.  Electronic data protection should be discussed with OIT staff.

Revised June 2020