NUMBER: 8-16-2 APPROVED DATE: 07-19-2021

LEGAL AUTHORITY: Section §8-11-15 of the South Carolina Code of Laws, as amended

BASED ON POLICY NUMBER AND TITLE: SBTCE Policy 8-7-106 Telecommuting

THE LANGUAGE USED IN THIS DOCUMENT DOES NOT CREATE AN EMPLOYMENT CONTRACT BETWEEN THE EMPLOYEE AND TRIDENT TECHNICAL COLLEGE (TTC). THIS DOCUMENT DOES NOT CREATE ANY CONTRACTUAL RIGHTS OR ENTITLEMENTS. TRIDENT TECHNICAL COLLEGE (TTC) RESERVES THE RIGHT TO REVISE THE CONTENT OF THIS DOCUMENT, IN WHOLE OR IN PART. NO PROMISES OR ASSURANCES, WHETHER WRITTEN OR ORAL, WHICH ARE CONTRARY TO OR INCONSISTENT WITH THE TERMS OF THIS PARAGRAPH CREATE ANY CONTRACT OF EMPLOYMENT.

Telecommuting/Teleworking — A work arrangement in which the College directs or permits employees to perform their usual job duties away from their primary workplace, in accordance with a signed telecommuting agreement.  May also be referred to as remote work. Three main categories of telecommuting exist: 

• Regular, recurring telecommuting. May be full-time or part-time, such as one or two days a week or parts of each workday (to avoid peak commuting hours). This level of telecommuting requires a formal agreement between the College and employee. 

• Periodic, intermittent, telecommuting arrangements may be used when an employee is assigned a project with a short timeframe or one that requires uninterrupted time to complete. This level of telecommuting does not require the formal agreement or checklist. Supervisors must notify human resources when an employee will be telecommuting periodically. 

• Temporary or emergency telecommuting may be used during short-term illness, transportation emergency due to weather, a natural disaster, pandemic health crisis, or other similar unplanned emergent events. This level of telecommuting requires a formal agreement between the College and employee. 

The employee must submit an application via their supervisory chain to the Associate Vice President for Human Resources or designee for approval. Temporary or emergency telecommuting will not exceed four (4) weeks unless authorized by the College. 

The College will notify employees if they are required to telecommute based on an emergency situation (i.e. natural disaster or pandemic health crisis). A telecommuting application is not necessary when the College assigns telecommuting for emergency situations.

Primary Workplace: The telecommuter’s usual and customary workplace (i.e. assigned TTC work location). This primary workplace may include time spent by the employee at another TTC campus location. For employees who primarily work in the field, or who are full-time telecommuters, the primary work location should still be an assigned TTC work location. 

Alternate Workplace: A workplace other than the employee’s usual and customary workplace (primary workplace) and may include the employee’s home. The alternate workplace is not an assigned TTC work location. 

Telecommuting Application: The document used by cabinet members, vice presidents, supervisors, employees, and human resources to evaluate the employee’s ability to successfully telecommute. 

Telecommuting Agreement: The signed document that outlines the understanding between the College and the employee regarding the telecommuting arrangement. A telecommuting agreement must be renewed annually. The telecommuting agreement should be reviewed and updated if there is a permanent change to the employee’s job duties or if the provisions of the telecommuting agreement change. Telecommuting agreements are not transferable from one position to another. 

Telecommuter or Teleworker: An employee who has an agreed-upon schedule during which they are expected to work at an alternate workplace rather than their primary workplace (i.e. assigned TTC work location). 

Telecommuting Coordinator: The person responsible for providing support to telecommuting employees and their supervisors and monitoring the success of the telecommuting program. 

Child Care and Dependent Care — Telecommuting workers may have household members or others who depend on them for care. Telecommuters with these obligations must have adequate care arrangements that do not interfere with their job responsibilities. Telecommuting is not a substitute for child care, dependent care or other personal responsibilities. Telecommuters are required to use accrued leave when necessary, to provide dependent care or when addressing other personal responsibilities. This includes time spent caring for ill household members or other people.

Blackout Dates: Calendar days in the year where employees are required to work at their primary workplace and may not telecommute unless authorized by the President or designee.

II.  Eligibility Requirements for Telecommuting: 

Telecommuting is a management option and not a universal employee benefit. Telecommuting may not be suitable for all employees and/or positions. The decision to allow an employee to telecommute is solely at the discretion of the College. The College may revoke the approval of any employee to telecommute at any time, with or without notice. The decision to revoke approval to telecommute is not a grievable action under the South Carolina Employee Grievance Procedure Act.

Generally, an employee’s participation in the College’s telecommuting program is voluntary and must be mutually agreed upon by the Vice President, supervisor, and employee, with final approval by the Associate Vice President for Human Resources or designee. The Associate Vice President for Human Resources or designee may, however, designate a position as telecommuting only. In this case, telecommuting would not be voluntary. 

To be eligible to participate in telecommuting, an employee must occupy a full-time equivalent (FTE) position and have completed one year of satisfactory employment with the College. Employees are ineligible for telecommuting if they have received a disciplinary action in the last six (6) months or are in a warning period of substandard performance. A supervisor may be ineligible to telecommute if their direct reports occupy positions that can only be performed at the primary workplace (ex: some positions in Public Safety, Facilities, etc.). Employees are limited to one (1) telecommuting day per week. Assistant Vice Presidents’ telecommuting schedule will follow that of Cabinet. These requirements can be waived by the President or designee if the position is one in which telecommuting is required or for any other reason deemed appropriate by the President. 

The employee will submit a Telecommuting Application via their supervisory chain to the Associate Vice President for Human Resources or designee to determine if the employee will be permitted to participate in a telecommuting arrangement. 

Full-time faculty telecommuting schedules at Trident Technical College must be in compliance with TTC Procedure 13-0-8, Full-time Faculty Workload/Overload. 

• Regular, recurring telecommuting.
  • The employee will submit a Telecommuting Application and Alternate Workplace Checklist via their supervisory chain to the Associate Vice President for Human Resources or designee to determine if the employee will be permitted to participate in a telecommuting arrangement. If approved, the employee will submit a Telecommuting Agreement. 

• Periodic, intermittent telecommuting.
  • Supervisors must submit a Telecommuting Periodic Notification Form to human resources when an employee will be telecommuting periodically. 

• Temporary or emergency telecommuting.
  • This level of telecommuting requires a formal agreement between the College and employee. Temporary or emergency telecommuting will not exceed four (4) weeks unless authorized by the College. The College will notify employees if they are required to telecommute based on an emergency situation (i.e. natural disaster or pandemic health crisis). A telecommuting application is not necessary when the College assigns telecommuting for emergency situations. 

The employee’s duties, responsibilities, and conditions of employment remain the same as if the employee were working at their primary workplace. The telecommuter’s supervisor may, however, assign additional duties related to communication, work progress and productivity. The employee will continue to comply with federal and state law, and TTC’s policies and procedures while working at an alternate workplace. The employee shall remain subject to all Trident Technical College disciplinary policies and procedures while performing work at the alternate workplace. This includes Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) requirements related to the payment for time worked and overtime compensation. 

Supervisors will determine the employee’s work hours and location. The work hours and location are specified as part of the telecommuting agreement. The employee must be accessible during the specified work hours. The College and the employee agree that, at the College’s discretion, the employee may perform assigned work for the College at a location other than TTC’s on-site assigned work location as a “telecommuter.” 

Telecommuters are expected to be working and focused on the performance of their job duties during all work hours. All personal activities, including child and dependent care, pet care, housework, yardwork, personal errands, etc., should be done only during established break times, lunch time, on leave, and before and after work hours. Telecommuters are required to use accrued leave when necessary, to provide dependent care or when addressing other personal responsibilities. This includes time spent caring for an ill household member or other person. 

Working hours cannot coincide or overlap with any other type of employment. 

All telecommuters are required to document time worked at their alternate work location regardless of FLSA status. 

Supervisors will determine blackout dates for telecommuting based on the needs of their areas. The President may also initiate blackout dates for telecommuting as needs arise.

The employee’s salary and benefits remain the same as if the employee were working at their primary workplace. If the employee works less than the employee’s normal workweek, salary and benefits must be adjusted accordingly. 

Telecommuters who have provided a medical certification prohibiting them from working are similarly prohibited from working remotely. 

VII.  Advancement 

Telecommuting will not adversely affect an employee’s eligibility for advancement or any other employee right or benefit. An employee will be compensated for all pay, leave, and overtime (for non-exempt employees) as if all duties were being performed at the employee’s primary workplace. 

VIII.  Leave and Overtime 

Requests to work overtime and use sick, annual or any other leave must be approved by the College in the same manner as when working at the employee’s primary workplace. An employee shall not work overtime unless authorized in advance by the College or as otherwise authorized by the College’s overtime policy. Telecommuting hours are regular work hours and, therefore, employees may not perform personal activities during these hours. The employee agrees that telecommuting is not to be viewed as a substitute for dependent care. Telecommuters with dependent care requirements, must arrange for someone else to provide dependent care services during the agreed upon work hours. Telecommuters are expected to follow the College’s leave policies and procedures to request time off from telecommuting to engage in non-work activities. 

Employees on approved continuous Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) leave are not authorized to telecommute. If the employee is unable to report to the primary workplace and requests approval to telecommute instead of using and/or extending their FMLA leave, the employee must submit a request to Human Resources. The request must include certification from their medical provider releasing them to work at their alternate workplace as a telecommuter. If the request is approved, the telecommuting agreement will not exceed four (4) weeks unless authorized by TTC.  Employees in telecommuting eligible positions are not guaranteed the ability to telecommute. 

The employee will work at the primary workplace or the approved alternate workplace, and not from another unapproved site. Failure to comply with this provision may result in termination of the agreement, and other appropriate disciplinary action. The College will establish agreed upon expectations relative to the time the employee would need to spend in the primary workplace and to give adequate notice when these expectations are subject to change, when possible. However, the employee may be required to report to the primary workplace without advanced notice, upon request by the College. 

The alternate workplace must be in South Carolina. Employee requests to designate an alternate work location outside of South Carolina will be denied. Under no circumstances may an employee conduct work from a location outside of the state of South Carolina unless specific approval is received from Human Resources and their supervisor. No work may be performed at a location outside of the United States. 

If the alternate workplace is in the employee’s home, the employee is responsible for reviewing their home or rental insurance to ensure there is no prohibition against a home office and any relevant zoning requirements to ensure a home office is permitted. 

The employee agrees to designate a separate workspace in the alternate workplace for the purposes of telecommuting and will maintain this area in a safe condition, free from hazards and other dangers to the employee and the College’s equipment. To ensure the safety of the workspace, the employee agrees to complete and return to the College a Telecommuting Safety Checklist which will certify the employee’s alternate workplace complies with health and safety requirements. The employee must submit this checklist to the College before they may begin telecommuting. The employee agrees that the College shall have reasonable access to the alternate workplace for the purposes of inspection of the site and retrieval of state-owned property. TTC employees are not authorized to access the telecommuter’s alternate workplace without authorization from the Associate Vice President for Human Resources and/or designee. An employee understands that they will be liable for injuries or damages to the person or property of third parties or any members of the employee’s family in the alternate workplace if it is in the employee’s home. The employee agrees to consult with the College before moving any heavy equipment or furniture in the alternate workplace.

Updated: 01-05-2023

Modified and Approved: 01-01-2024