STATE OF MARYLAND POLICY

SUBJECT: Teleworking	Effective: 7/1/99

Revised: 5/22/13

________________________

Cynthia A. Kollner

OPSB Executive Director

AUTHORITY: Code of Maryland Regulations (COMAR) 17.04.11.02 B (1) (a).

STATEMENT OF POLICY

The State has a teleworking program which allows selected employees to work from home, a satellite office, or a Telework Center on an occasional basis.

Each agency will attempt to allow at least 15 percent of eligible employees to telework.

DEFINITIONS

Eligible Employee - An employee in a job identified, by the employee's supervisor, as being suitable for teleworking.

Main Work Site - The Teleworker's usual and customary Agency work address or other location as approved by the employee’s supervisor.

Remote Work Site - A work site other than the employee's usual and customary work site (Main Work Site). The remote work site shall mean the employee’s residence or any remote office location approved by the Agency. It may include the employee's home, a satellite office, or a Telework Center.

Telework Center - A facility that offers office-like work stations and electronic equipment that may be used by State agencies to house Teleworking employees.

Teleworker - A person who, for at least four days a month, works at home, at a satellite office, or at a Telework Center to produce specific deliverables as stated in the Telework Work Plan.

STATE OF MARYLAND POLICY

SUBJECT: Teleworking	Effective: 7/1/99

Revised: 5/22/13

2.6 Work Plan – A specific set of defined work expectations to be met each time	the employee works at a remote work site.

2.7	Teleworking – Working at a location other than the employee's usual and customary worksite.

EMPLOYEE PARTICIPATION

The supervisor will determine which employees are in jobs suitable for teleworking by using the Telework Eligibility Checklist.

At the discretion of the supervisor, employees in jobs suitable for teleworking may be permitted to telework on designated days.

Teleworking is voluntary and may be terminated by the employee or the supervisor at any time.

Before allowing an employee to telework, the employee's supervisor shall review with the employee the following:

the Agency Teleworking Agreement;

the Remote Work Site Self-Certification Checklist; and

the Telework Work Plan.

The employee shall be required to complete and return, to the supervisor, the Agency Teleworking Agreement, the Remote Work Site Self-Certification Checklist and the General Telework Requirements before teleworking and annually when the teleworking arrangement continues beyond 12 months.

Before each teleworking day at a remote work site, the supervisor and the teleworker must complete a Telework Work Plan, the teleworker agreeing to the general telework requirements and the supervisor identifying the assignments to be completed while the employee is teleworking with specific deliverables for each.

EMPLOYMENT

The teleworker's duties, obligations, responsibilities and conditions of employment with the State will be unaffected by teleworking.

STATE OF MARYLAND POLICY

SUBJECT: Teleworking	Effective: 7/1/99

Revised: 5/22/13

4.2 The teleworker's salary, retirement benefits, and State of Maryland sponsored	insurance coverage will remain unchanged by the teleworking arrangement.

4.3 All work hours, overtime compensation, and leave usage must conform to the	Annotated Code of Maryland, Code of Maryland Regulations (COMAR), the	provisions of the State of Maryland Teleworking Agreement, and to the terms	otherwise agreed upon by the employee and the supervisor.

4.4	The teleworker must have the pre-approval of the teleworker's supervisor	before working overtime at a remote work site.

4.5 The holding of work-related meetings while at home is not permitted.

5. EQUIPMENT AND SUPPLIES

5.1	The teleworker must have a telephone and a designated work space with

appropriate equipment and supplies to do the assigned work at the remote

work site.

The teleworker is not required to provide equipment, software, and supplies.

Agencies may provide the teleworker with the following equipment:

laptops;

desktop computers;

printers;

modems;

faxes;

scanners;

cables; and

software.

Equipment purchases must be related to the performance of the teleworker’s

specific teleworking job duties.

Before purchasing equipment, other than that specified in Section 5.3, agencies

must receive approval from the DBM Office of Budget Analysis.

STATE OF MARYLAND POLICY

SUBJECT: Teleworking	Effective: 7/1/99

Revised: 5/22/13

5.6 Agency equipment provided to an employee shall remain the property of the agency and shall be returned to the agency upon the termination of an employee’s participation in the telework program.

5.7	The use of equipment, software, data, supplies and furniture, if provided by an agency, is limited to use by authorized persons and for purposes related to State business only.

5.8	The teleworker will be responsible for the security of all items furnished by the State.

5.9	The teleworker shall obtain from the main office all supplies needed for work at the remote work site.

WORK SPACE

6.1 The teleworker must have an area designated as work space.

6.2	The work space should be maintained in a safe condition, free of hazards that might endanger the employee or agency equipment.

The supervisor shall require that the teleworker complete and return the Remote

Work Site Self Certification Checklist.

7. EXPENSES

7.1	Work-related long distance phone calls should be planned for in-office days.

7.2	At the discretion of the supervisor, expenses for long distance calls, which must be made from a teleworker's home, may be reimbursed if the reason and cost for the call are documented.

7.3	The teleworker is responsible for the cost of maintenance, repair and operation of personal equipment, not provided by the State.

STATE OF MARYLAND POLICY

SUBJECT: Teleworking	Effective: 7/1/99

Revised: 5/22/13

7.4 Expenses for supplies regularly available at the main office will not be reimbursed unless pre-purchase approval has been granted by the teleworker's supervisor.

8. LIABILITY FOR INJURIES WHILE TELEWORKING

The teleworker is covered under the State's Workers' Compensation Law for injuries occurring in the course of the actual performance of official duties at the remote work place.

The teleworker or someone acting on the teleworker's behalf shall immediately notify the teleworker's supervisor of any accident or injury that occurs at the remote work site.

The agency and the supervisor should then follow the State's policies regarding the reporting of injuries for employees injured while at work.

The agency is not liable for damages to the teleworker's personal or real property while the teleworker is working at the remote work site, except to the extent adjudicated to be liable under Maryland law.

CHILD/DEPENDENT CARE/PERSONAL BUSINESS

Teleworking is not a substitute for child or dependent care.

The teleworker must continue to make arrangements for child or dependent care to the same extent as if the teleworker was working at the main office.

The teleworker must refrain from conducting personal business while on work status at the remote work site.

The teleworker must complete the Telework Schedule to include the main and remote work site addresses, telephone numbers, work hours for each day and the daily lunch period.

The supervisor must agree to any changes to the Telework Schedule in advance.

STATE OF MARYLAND POLICY

SUBJECT: Teleworking	Effective: 7/1/99

Revised: 5/22/13

INSPECTIONS

10.1 The supervisor may make an on-site visit to the teleworker's remote work site	during the employee’s scheduled telework hours for the purposes of verifying	that the employee is teleworking as scheduled, determining that the site is safe	and free from hazards and to maintain, repair, inspect or retrieve agency-	owned equipment, software, data or supplies.

CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION

The teleworker and the supervisor shall take appropriate safeguards to secure

confidential data and information.

DISCIPLINE

The State's disciplinary procedures and drug and alcohol policies are not

affected by an employee's status as a teleworker.

An agency may take appropriate disciplinary or adverse action against the

teleworker for failing to comply with the provisions of the Agency Teleworking Agreement.