New Alternate Work Location Arrangement Pilot Program

This message to all faculty and staff has been approved by Renisha Gibbs, Associate Vice President for Human Resources and Finance & Administration Chief of Staff.

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, our office has remained committed to ensuring that the University’s business needs are met while still considering employees’ personal needs. We made considerable effort to adapt existing HR policies to offer flexibility for employees in certain circumstances. As a result of this effort, we have developed a new Alternate Work Location Pilot Program that will temporarily replace our Telecommuting policy.

Alternate Work Location Pilot Program

FSU is a vibrant residential campus, and as such, the majority of employees must be on-site to support the University environment. However, we recognize that under limited circumstances working from an alternate location can improve productivity and enhance work/life balance.

An Alternate Work Location Arrangement (AWLA) is a flexible worksite arrangement on a temporary or fixed basis that serves both the employee and the University’s needs. This policy applies to Executive Service (AEX), Administrative & Professional (A&P), University Support Personnel System (USPS), and Other Personal Services (OPS) employees.

Telework
Partial Telework allows departments to approve for eligible employees up to two (2) days per week of work from an Alternate Work Location. Requests must be approved by the employee’s supervisor, department head, and dean/director. Eligibility includes but is not limited to the job duties of the positions, demonstrated sustained performance, and a minimum of six months of service with the University. The AWLA pilot program is voluntary, and some departments/divisions may choose not to offer this as an option or may have more restrictive requirements for approval.

Extended Telework is a request that exceeds two (2) days per week and should only be considered in exceptional circumstances. These will require approval by Human Resources, and requests can be submitted by routing a completed Extended Telework Agreement form.

Remote Positions
A Remote Position is 100% remote and will only be considered based on the location of the job duties or for highly skilled positions that are difficult to fill. The Remote Position designation must be notated on the position description and must be included in the job advertisement.

  • Remote based on job duties location
  • Remote based on highly skilled recruitment need

In most cases, employees are responsible for having the appropriate equipment and technological access at the Alternate Work Location to ensure job duties can be completed.

Current telework agreements will be honored through the expiration date. Upon completion of the agreement, employees will need to go through the new process if they wish to continue teleworking.

We have developed a Quick Reference Guide to provide a general overview of the Pilot Program.

AWLA Pilot Program Zoom

Please join us for an in-depth overview of the new pilot program.

Date: Thursday, June 24
Time: 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
Zoom Link: https://fsu.zoom.us/j/99174657396

We encourage you to pre-submit your questions about the program to Shelley Lopez at s.lopez@fsu.edu by Monday, June 21 at 5:00 p.m.

We look forward to sharing information on this exciting new program with you.

Questions? For questions regarding Remote Positions, contact Shelley McLaughlin at sscopoli@fsu.edu. For questions regarding Telework, contact Christine Conley at caconley@fsu.edu.