The procedures described herein are governed by the Flexible Work Arrangement Policy; any perceived interpretive conflict between that policy and these procedures is to be resolved in favor of the policy.
Work from Home (WFH) is a program that allows employees to work from their personal residence for no more than two days of their work week without disruption to other staff or the area's work productivity levels. It is an arrangement that may be appropriate for certain employees and certain jobs and is designed to provide the incumbent employee with increased flexibility, while minimizing the production costs carried by the University.
A WFH arrangement is an opportunity that may be offered to employees in good standing whose primary job activities can be carried out from their personal residence without reducing their area's service levels. WFH arrangements do not change the at-will nature of employment with the University and can be altered or terminated by the University at any time with or without cause and with or without advance notice. A WFH arrangement is neither an entitlement, nor may it be a condition of employment, nor is it part of the University benefits program.
Program Design & Eligibility
The Catholic University of America Work from Home program is a pre-approved, scheduled arrangement that allows an eligible employee to work from their personal residence ("Home") up to two days per work week under the guidelines described below.
Employees requesting WFH arrangements must be full-time employees, and have been at the University for a minimum of six months of continuous, regular employment in good standing. Either an employee or a supervisor may suggest WFH as a possible work arrangement; however, the employee and supervisor, in partnership with the Office of Human Resources (OHR), will ultimately evaluate the suitability of such an arrangement. The nature of work must be conducive to the arrangements, without causing disruption to the area's overall performance or quality of service delivery. Employees who primarily are engaged in activities that cannot be successfully undertaken at Home will not be approved for the WFH program. It is required that the employee and supervisor meet to establish and document clear expectations associated with this arrangement, in advance of seeking approval.
To seek approval for a WFH arrangement, a written WFH Agreement must be completed and signed by both the employee and the employee's supervisor. It is then submitted to the Office of Human Resources (OHR) for approval and, if endorsed, recommendation to their area's VP or Provost. Additionally, the employee and supervisor must attend WFH training provided by OHR before the requested WFH arrangement may begin. Initially, these training sessions are being scheduled department by department, as requested by department leadership. Following these initial department WFH training sessions, a general, ongoing live WFH training schedule will be established.
This program is structured to allow employees to complete their work activities from Home up to two consistent days per work week, scheduled and articulated in the WFH written agreement. Employees are required to work on-site at their designated work location for the remaining three to four days per work week—these are their balance days. Being on-site for their balance days per work week takes precedence over any scheduled days to work from Home during any work week. Thus, absences from the usual campus worksite during a work week due to reasons such as weather, illness, vacation, or University holiday will require the employee to work on campus during their otherwise-scheduled WFH days to meet the balance days weekly on-site requirement. The goal of this design is to maintain a minimum of three days per week for face-to-face engagement and collaboration among teams.
While participating in a WFH arrangement, employees must continue to comply with all applicable University policies and conduct rules, and are expected to perform their responsibilities as they otherwise would under a standard working arrangement. There may be times when an employee will be required to work on site on their regularly-scheduled WFH day to support business needs that are not best addressed from Home (e.g., group training, critical meetings, peak service periods, or other demands as determined by the supervisor).
If it is determined that an employee's performance is not meeting expectations, the WFH arrangement will be altered, suspended, or ended. Reinstatement of a WFH arrangement will require re-approval by the employee's supervisor, OHR and their area's VP or Provost. While working remotely, employees are expected to provide regular status updates to supervisors and engage with their colleagues as needed. The nature and frequency of such communications and engagement must be included in the WFH Agreement documentation.
The number of days per week (one or two) provided in a WFH Agreement is determined solely by the supervisor. Great care (as the highest priority) must be taken to ensure that the area's business needs are maintained and that workload is not shifted to other employees or teams to accommodate or compensate for any inefficiencies that result from utilization of this privilege.
I. Eligibility
Applicants for WFH privileges must have full-time, regular employee status, have been in good standing for the previous six months, and must have job duties that are conducive to being successfully undertaken from Home without degrading their area's overall services levels. They must demonstrate satisfactory performance through a recent written supervisor evaluation of their work.
II. Equipment and Services to Enable Work From Home
It is the employee's responsibility to obtain and securely maintain the necessary equipment and supplies (such as computer equipment, telephone, web access, etc.) for their WFH location. The WFH Agreement must demonstrate that the employee acknowledges and has met these requirements in a manner sufficient to conduct duties and complete assignments as required. Further, unavailability of equipment, supplies, and/or network connectivity are reasons for the employee to immediately return to their on-site work location. The University is not responsible for costs associated with the purchase, maintenance or setup of any employee's Home office or for repairs or modifications to the Home office space or equipment. All such costs are at the employee's expense and not reimbursable by the University. Home work environments must be conducive to productive and focused work and have minimal disruptions and distractions for the employee.
III. Security and Privacy
Consistent with the University's expectations of information security for employees working on-site, WFH employees must ensure the protection of proprietary University information that is accessible from their Home. Appropriate steps include regular password maintenance, segregation of University materials from access by others, and any other measures required by the department or appropriate for the job and the operating environment. Employees working from Home are required to use multi-factor authentication provided by Technology Services for access to any secured University systems. Further, employees are required to connect to the Virtual Private Network (VPN) and log in using Remote Desktop Services if they need to access their on-site desktop computer from Home. Work products like reports, documents, or other files should be stored on University-provided storage (i.e., the University Google drive) and not stored on personal devices in the Home.
IV. Safety
Employees must establish an appropriate work environment within their Homes for work purposes. They are expected to maintain their Home workspace in a safe manner, free from safety hazards, disruptions and distractions. All Safety or Security incidents occurring during Work From Home time must be reported in writing to the supervisor within 24 hours. The Catholic University of America is not responsible for inspecting or maintaining the Home work environment. Unless otherwise defined explicitly in the approved WFH Agreement, all work performed as part of the WFH program must be performed from the employee's Home.
V. Request and Approval
Typically, an employee initiates a request for a Work from Home arrangement by submitting a formal request.
In addition to the supervisor, an area's VP or Provost is required to approve WFH arrangements; such arrangements, and any subsequent adjustments to them, must be reported to OHR for its record. A WFH arrangement shall be initiated on a defined period of time, and may be discontinued at any time at the request of the employee. Supervisors may suspend the privilege without cause or notice. The employee and supervisor must complete the Work from Home Request Form which may be implemented, upon approval of OHR, by the area VP or Provost. Agreements shall be time-specific with a term limit or an end date for review and reconsideration of not more than every 12 months in conjunction with the employee's performance evaluation. Modifications or renewals shall be appropriately documented and maintained in the employee's personnel file, with copies for the employee and supervisor.
VI. Work Status/Performance
Employees are expected to perform only official work duties during their scheduled WFH hours and may not conduct personal business or otherwise be distracted while Working From Home. Personal business includes, but is not limited to, attending doctors' appointments, making home repairs or awaiting deliveries, providing dependent care, or any activity one would not be able to engage in if they were working at their on-site location. Use of FlexTime or approved leave are appropriate accommodations to provide for these activities.
If any member of the employee's supervisory chain determines that a WFH employee's performance is not meeting expectations or there is the perception of non-responsiveness, the WFH Agreement may be altered, suspended or ended.
VII. Time Worked and Leave
If an employee is scheduled to Work From Home on a day that coincides with approved leave, the employee must report the leave. Failure to submit timely and accurate leave reports will result in suspension or termination of leave approval and/or the WFH agreement. If an unforeseen circumstance prevents the employee from meeting work obligations during scheduled WFH time, appropriate leave must be immediately requested and reported under the applicable policy.
VIII. WFH Employee Availability
Employees with a WFH arrangement must be fully available by approved tele-presence technology throughout the day while they are working from home. It is required of the employee to forward their University phone number to their Home location. The WFH employee's participation at any and all scheduled meetings is expected as if they were on site. The supervisor may require on-site attendance at any time, including during scheduled WFH days.
IX. Exceptions
Rarely, certain exceptions to these procedures may be approved if a compelling case is presented by a supervisor, endorsed by the area VP/Provost, and approved by OHR. OHR's decision on such requests is final.
X. Ad-hoc Remote Work Arrangements
Ad hoc, temporary arrangements where an employee is allowed to work remotely may be approved for unusual circumstances such as inclement weather, special projects, business travel or temporary and extraordinary personal needs. Such arrangements are not part of this WFH program. They should be infrequent exceptions, where unfair use patterns or abuse remain subject to the university's standard performance management procedures. All such arrangements are managed at the supervisory level, but must be reported to OHR.
For questions and guidance regarding these procedures, contact your supervisor or the Office of Human Resources at 202-319-5050 or CUA-HumanResources@cua.edu.
Updated: January 27, 2022