As a learning organization continuously seeking to improve the methods by which we deliver quality service, the Maricopa Community Colleges offers a variety of work schedule options(doc) to employees. As Maricopans, we are already familiar with compressed work weeks during the summer months. This manual is designed to assist individual colleges/centers in establishing flexible year-round options which offer balance to an employee's work and home life, as well as to help improve our Valley's air quality.
In this manual you will find definitions of various flexible work options, procedures on how a program can be established in your work unit, resource phone numbers, and a special section on telecommuting. Flexible scheduling often brings questions related to legal and compensation issues, recordkeeping, and other matters that may be unique in an academic setting.
Guidelines for Establishing Flextime
Flextime is a methodology which better balances and manages work and life schedules. Flextime should be an informal, semi-permanent agreement between both the employee and supervisor. The supervisor has responsibility for determining and approving flex hours for the department. The employee has the responsibility of monitoring and documenting work and completion of job duties. Supervisors and employees should work together to coordinate an arrangement which meets the needs of the office. In addition to offering flexibility, this requires that the parties regularly communicate. Whether participating in compressed hours or telecommuting at an off-site location, the parties involved should be considerate of any changes of business necessity which could impact the duration of flex work arrangements.
Planning For a Flexible Schedule
A supervisor who wishes to implement flexscheduling, or an employee or group of employees who wish to work a flex schedule, should begin by discussing the parameters of the program; identify any barriers which may exist and determine possible resolutions, outline the major responsibilities or daily tasks, and determine whether there are tasks which must be covered when the employee is out of the office due to a flex schedule. Also, outline the conditions or purposes in which a standard work schedule would be returned.
Prioritization of work and cross-training staff members is not only beneficial for flextime but also during instances when employees may be out of the office such as during vacations, sick days or other absences.
Posting a master schedule which lists when employees will be out of the office--whether for their flex time, vacation day or personal days--ensures that everyone is informed of the level of office coverage.
Additional Recordkeeping Requirements
All nonexempt (generally, Professional Staff, Maintenance & Operations, Crafts, and College Safety & Security are considered nonexempt) employees, regardless of the type of schedule they are working, must still complete a weekly time sheet for purposes of compliance with the Fair Labor Standards Act. (This is an additional requirement separate from the regular absence reporting and flex schedule reporting.)
Records for nonexempt employees should be retained by the employee's supervisor for at least 3 years. Call Wage & Salary for additional information on Nonexempt Weekly Time Sheets.
Current policies guiding overtime remain in effect. Refer to employee policy manual. Altering the work week in an effort to avoid overtime, compensatory time, premium time or holiday time can result in a violation of labor laws.
Some District sites have an approved summer schedule consisting of four days/week (M-Th), 10 hours/day. Employees and supervisors have the opportunity to utilize alternative schedules to meet the needs of the organization. Alternatives to the districtwide summer schedule should be approved in advance by the appropriate supervisor(s). Talk to your site coordinator about summer schedule opportunities.
Vacation and holiday hours are to be recorded as usual. Nonexempt employees should record their vacation and holiday hours on the weekly time sheets.
All time off, whether holidays, sick leave, vacation, etc., should be viewed in terms of hours instead of days. In a standard work schedule, all holidays are comprised of 8 hours. Thus, all holiday pay is equal to 8 hours per day. (However, holidays which occur during the districtwide approved summer schedule from May - August are considered as 10 hours.)
Employees who work a flex schedule on a year-round basis need to ensure that their hours are properly recorded. For instance, an employee who works a flex schedule in February, is accountable for 32 hours worked during the week in which President's Day falls.
The following holidays are recognized by the District:
Workers' Compensation for Telecommuters
Coverage for injuries and accidents arising out of and in the course of employment are subject to current workers' compensation guidelines. Persons who telecommute from home or a location other than the primary work site should ensure that the work area is set up to prevent injuries and accidents. Questions regarding work area safety should be directed to District Risk Management at 480-731-8879.
With the changing needs of families and increasing traffic and air pollution, the idea of being able to work from home for part or most of an employee's work schedule becomes more and more attractive. Some Maricopa Community Colleges employees have worked out telecommuting arrangements that allow them to get their jobs done and better meet family responsibilities, as well as avoiding the every-day commute. Telecommuting can also make a contribution to the problems of traffic congestion and air pollution in the Valley of the Sun. As we increase our technological capabilities this option becomes even a more reasonable possibility.
Outlined in this section are major issues that employees and supervisors need to consider when mutually developing a telecommuting work plan.
The employee and the supervisor need to discuss the objectives and scope of the work to be done off-site and decide on a work schedule. Objectives and proposed activities need to be clearly identified. In most cases it is advisable that the employee keep a weekly log of hours worked in the office and hours worked at home and a brief weekly description of accomplishments. Part of the reason for this is found in Federal Law: the Fair Labor Standards Act requires nonexempt (generally, Professional Staff, Maintenance & Operations, Crafts, College Safety & Security, temporary and student) employees to have a defined work week and to be additionally compensated when the number of hours worked in this defined work week exceeds forty hours. Telecommuting makes this documentation even more important for these employees and their supervisors. Maricopa Community Colleges must be able to demonstrate compliance with the Fair Labor Standards Act. Therefore, record keeping is important.
Additional information about defining the work week can be found in the Work Schedule Glossary.
Having a clear agreement between the employee and the supervisor about the objectives, hours, activities and accomplishments of a telecommuting work plan will avoid misunderstanding later and alleviate the uneasy feelings that some employees and supervisors may experience.
Some Considerations: The kinds of technology that the employee will need to be able to work from home will vary according to the nature of the work being done. For some, nothing special beyond a telephone will be needed but for others, the assignment may require the use of a computer as a stand alone unit or connected to the Maricopa District's system via a modem and/or the Internet. If the employee needs to be able to access the computer system while talking with someone on the telephone, then a second telephone line into the residence would be required. Also, if a telephone line needs to be kept open for family business, the second line might be necessary as well. Phone line issues should be referred to the appropriate supervisor.
Getting Connected: The needed equipment for telecommuting should be assessed. In some instances, the institution has provided equipment, while in others, employees use the computer that they already have at home. (See the section on Hardware for details about equipment needs.)
Estimated costs for an additional phone line in the U.S. West service area are $46.50 for installation and $16.70 per month for the service. Advanced planning may be necessary due to the lag time between ordering a second line and getting it installed.
The goal of Project Apollo for the new districtwide administrative systems is that they will be accessible via the Internet. Internet service will be provided to Maricopa employees and students by Qwest at a reduced monthly rate for unlimited access with a one-time start-up fee.
For further sign up information, on the !NTERPRISE Networking Services from Qwest, contact: 1-800-672-8520.
Call forwarding is available now so that an employee's office telephone calls may be forwarded to the home telephone number. This option is not available if long distance is required to forward calls to the off-site location (i.e., living in a 520 or other area code).
Desktop computer needs will vary widely according to the tasks to be accomplished in the employees's work plan. A basic home computer with a Maricopa supported communications software package and a 9600 baud or higher modem for establishing a dial-up connection will be enough for some. However, as new administrative systems are refined and the Project Apollo Learner Centered System comes on-line, the need for computer power, memory and disk storage space will increase. The Desktop Project Steering Committee established minimum requirements for desktop computer systems that would adequately meet these needs. Their recommendations are as follows:
For DOS/Windows computers: Pentium 100 or higher CPU; 16 megabytes of ram memory or more; 500 megabyte to 1 gigabyte hard drive; 15" to 17" SVGA color monitor; sound card (16 or 32 bit); 4x (or higher) CD-Rom drive modem (28.8 or higher recommended); printer--optional but useful--should have graphics capability.
For Macintosh computers: PowerMac 6100 or higher; 16 megabytes of ram memory or more; 500 megabyte to 1 gigabyte hard drive; 15" to 17" color monitor; sound card (16 or 32 bit); 4x (or higher) CD-Rom drive modem (28.8 or higher recommended); printer--optional but useful--should have graphics capability.
Microsoft Office for either Windows or Macintosh was recommended as the basic office software suite because of its availability for both platforms, its already widespread use in the district and the reasonably simple exchange of files from one platform to another. In addition, Microsoft allows an installed copy in the employee's office desktop computer and one in the employee's home computer under one license. Netscape Navigator (3.0 or better) was selected as the Internet browser of choice. Beyond that, the employee and supervisor will need to determine together what software will be needed to carry out the assigned tasks. District license agreements for the use of the selected software and copyright provisions must not be violated. For questions on copyright provisions or licensing agreements, call District Legal Services at 480-731-8877.
Support for Computer Hardware and Related Equipment Used at Home
It is not feasible for either the District Office or college Computer Repair Services to set up and maintain equipment in the employee's home. Personnel resources are simply not sufficient. Therefore, equipment requiring repair will need to be brought in to the employee's regular office location for service. As a matter of policy, Computer Repair Services cannot work on equipment that is not owned by the district, i.e., equipment that is not tagged with a MCCCD property tag.
Responsibility for Insurance Coverage
At the present time, the employee is responsible for the loss of or damage to the equipment checked out to be used at home. Insurance is the employee's option to provide protection in the event of loss or damage to MCCCD equipment.
Employees should be aware that many homeowner's insurance policies do not cover computer or other equipment that is not the property of the homeowner. Check with your insurance agent or carrier about your coverage.
Use of Own Computer at Home: Would There Be a Tax Write-Off?
IRS has recently made some changes in the definition and use of a home office for tax write-off purposes. There are a lot of individual circumstances that need to be evaluated and therefore it is hard to give a yes or no answer to this question. It is an issue to be explored between the individual employee and the IRS.
The issue of the computer being used as a tool for accomplishing work and therefore deductible as a tool, is also a matter of individual circumstances and definition and needs to be explored by the employee with the IRS or a tax consultant.
Current Guidelines for Home Use of District Equipment
The new Computer Loan Agreement form now includes a "heads-up" about the provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act and requires the employee to discuss their telecommuting plans with their management level supervisor. Managers will need to be aware of the implications of the regulations of the Fair Labor Standards Act as it applies to telecommuting, particularly the hours worked per pay period and documentation that might be required. This was discussed under Developing the Work Plan section above.
It is hoped this manual will serve as a resource in helping to further expand flexible work options throughout the Maricopa Community Colleges. Special thanks and acknowledgments are extended to all of the team members who worked to establish a structure for our extended flexscheduling program:
Maribeth All, Nancy Baracy, Margaret Bonghi, Judy Boschult, Gerry Bradshaw, Janet Denson, John Gray, Carol Hale, Deanna Jimenez, Ellen LaCorte, Alan Levine, Lorie Obrien, Linda Perham, Dana Pugh-Reid, Nancy Markowski, Ginger Martindale, Brachel Mejia, Kathy Mendoza, Bonnie Nickerson, Marie Pepicello, Joyce Petriekis, Patricia Schellhase, Julie Smith, Sue Tavakoli, Teresa Toney, and Sandra Wells.
Flexscheduling is offering a variety of work options to the standard 5 days worked within a 7-day period. Flexscheduling comprises alternatives such as flextime, staggered work hours, telecommuting, compressed work weeks, job sharing and part-time hours.
At Maricopa, we have already incorporated many forms of flexscheduling throughout our District--most notably the compressed 4-day summer schedule. It is the goal of the Maricopa Community Colleges to enhance our current activities by presenting the guidance needed for those areas wishing to incorporate a more formal, year- round program. By so doing, we shall improve both the environment we work in and the environment that we live in.
Compressed workweek: This is an alternative to the traditional 5-day workweek. A "4/10" workweek is one where workers work 40 hours in 4 days with one day off each week.
A "9/80" schedule is one where employees work 80 hours in 9 days--with a day off every other week (in a pay period--for example, the first week: five 9- hour days, the second week: three 9-hour days and one 8-hour day, one day off). For purposes of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) reporting, the 9/80 schedule in particular, requires a modification of the workweek to accommodate a fixed and recurring period of 168 hours comprised of seven (7) consecutive 24-hour periods.
To make this adjustment, the workweek can be viewed as a timeline for example, that begins at 11:01 a.m. on Friday (as opposed to our current start of 12:01 a.m. on Saturday--see standard work hour definition) and ends at 11:00 a.m. the following Friday; which is 168 consecutive hours.
Employees who work a compressed schedule that is different than the standard 5-day workweek should complete a flexschedule request form. A copy of the form is available in "Reference" section of this manual or by contacting Employee Services (480-731-8473) or District Trip Reduction (480-731-8151).
Flextime: flextime is a term used to describe varying work hours, whereby employees start and end work at different schedules, while maintaining a core time of office coverage. The core time is when everyone is expected to be on the job (ex: 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.).
Another flextime option (often called staggered hours) is to avoid peak travel times for traffic. If this is used as a strategy to meet trip reduction goals, work hour start times in the summer months should begin after 8:30 a.m. and in the winter months, should end before 4:00 p.m.
Job-Sharing/Part-Time: Job-sharing is an arrangement where at least two people share the same position and office space whereby the standard 40 hours are divided between them. In essence, it could be two part-time workers filling the needs of a full-time position. Part-time also is described in the traditional sense where a person works less than the 40 hours to be considered full-time. Where possible, part-time hours should also be compressed to avoid every day travel to our worksites.
Modified Work Week: consists of 168 consecutive hours (24 hours x 7 days). This allows the work week to start at any hour or any day.
Standard Work Hours/Week: generally consists of a forty (40) hour work week. A standard week is defined as no more than five (5) days within a seven (7) day period. The current standard MCCCD workweek for a pay period begins at 12:01 a.m. on Saturday and ends at midnight the following Friday.
Telecommuting: telecommuting is bringing the work to the worker as opposed to bringing the worker to the work. Telecommuting may or may not involve the use of equipment such as computers and faxes but should be dictated by the work involved.
While computers and modems allow employees to connect to the primary worksite to conduct their work, employees performing assignments that involve writing, phone calls, report reviews, etc. are also good candidates for telecommuting.
Forms Copies of the various Flex Scheduling forms mentioned above (i.e., Flex-Schedule Agreement) are available upon request by calling the Travel Reduction Office at 480-731-8058.