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Alternative Work Site(AWS) Policy

*The County Administrator has the ability to amend this policy due to extenuating circumstances.

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AWS Table of Contents

I. Goals 3

II. Definition of AWS 3

III. AWS Benefits 3

IV. AWS Principles 4

V. Compatibility Considerations 4

VI. Job Expectations 5

VII. Employee Characteristics 5

VIII. Department Expectations 5

IX. AWS Selection Criteria 6

X. AWS Plan 6

XI. AWS Office Set-up 6

XII. Work Schedule 9

XIII. Expenses 10

XIV. Taxes 10

XV. Liability 10

XVI. Family Interaction 11

XVII. Home Office Visits 11

XVIII. Data Security 11

XIX. Supervisor’s Performance Reviews for AWS Employees 12

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Alternative Work Site (AWS) Policy

Mille Lacs County

I. Goals for AWS include:

A. Flexibility and innovation in meeting the needs of constituents,internal customers, and employee needs.

B. Increase employee satisfaction, resulting in employee retention.C. Improve employee productivity.D. A more efficient use of space and resources.

II. Definition of AWS

The term “Alternative Work Site (AWS)” is defined as an approved work arrangement for eligible employees that enable them to work outside the office. Eligible employees are non managerial hourly non exempt employees. This arrangement will remain withinthe parameters of all labor bargaining contracts and the Mille Lacs County Personnel Policy. Approving an AWS is a managerial right.

III. AWS Benefits

A. Improved Customer Service - Improve customer convenience and reduce customer costs by making services more accessible through the location of staff, theuse of technology, and/or extended hours.

B. Increased Productivity – Increased productivity can occur due to fewer interruptions commonly found in the office. Increased productivity is defined as increased outcome indicators as negotiated between employee, appropriate workteam, and supervisor.

C. Disaster Recovery - Serve as a disaster recovery and contingency strategy.

D. Space Utilization - Maximize the optimization of office space during facilitytransition.

Mille Lacs County supports Alternative Work Sites (AWS) as a viable work optionwhich, when properly implemented, can have significant positive effects on

productivity, clients, families, morale, environment, transportation, and businesscosts.

The purpose of the program is to achieve maximum benefits for the consumer,the agency and the employees.

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IV. AWS Principles

A. AWS is a cooperative arrangement between the employee and management, itis a managerial right to approve for direct report employees.

B. An AWS arrangement is based on the needs of the job, the department and theorganization, and the employee's past and present levels of performance.

C. AWS is a management tool allowing for flexibility in work options. It will:

1. Not change the basic terms and conditions of employment.2. Not change the AWS worker’s salary, job, or responsibilities.3. Not change the county benefits.4. Not result in additional work for staff in the office who do not work an

alternative work site schedule.5. Be consistent with the union contract, Mille Lacs County Personnel Policy, and

Mille Lacs County Department Procedures.

D. Each AWS arrangement will be reviewed for continued mutual benefit at regular intervals by the staff member’s supervisor, and department head. A signed written agreement will confirm employee and supervisor commitment to the arrangement.AWS is voluntary and may be terminated at any time with notice by management.

E. County employees approved for full time AWS lose their permanent on-site assigned office, and are required to attend scheduled onsite meetings. For temporary or part time AWS employees the county may choose to leave the worker's on-site assigned office as is, or may choose to implement space-sharingprograms.

V. Compatibility Considerations

Each AWS arrangement should be jointly agreed upon between the supervisor andthe employee. Several compatibility criteria should be considered while assessingthe feasibility of AWS in a particular work group:

A. Job characteristicsB. Employee characteristicsC. Team characteristicsD. Managing supervisor characteristics

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VI. Job Expectations

Generally, tasks well suited for AWS have most of the following characteristics:

A. Communication can be easily handled over the telephone, voice mail, electronicmail, or electronic fax.

B. Individual works independently.C. Clearly defined tasks and deliverables.D. Measurable work activities.E. Objectives with identifiable time frames and reviews.F. Tasks can be performed without close supervision.G. Minimal requirements for special equipment.H. Schedule can be coordinated to accommodate home visits, appointments and

meetings.

VII. Employee Characteristics

The best AWS workers are strong performers with a high knowledge of the job, and who are self-disciplined, highly motivated, and comfortable working alone.

It is recommended that AWS workers have the following set of characteristics regardless of their reasons for wanting to work AWS:

A. Proven ability to perform and be proficient in their job and be up-to-date onworkload.

B. Self motivation, self discipline, self direction.C. A desire to make AWS work.D. A high degree of comfort working independently.E. Adequate computer skills in hardware and software.F. Can coordinate schedule to accommodate home visits, appointments and

meetings.G. Above average work skills including:

- good planning- efficient time management- high level of communication skills- ability to establish and meet clear standards and objectives

Employees must have successfully passed probation in order to pursue an AWS plan. To be eligible the employee must have no disciplinary investigation pending, disciplinary action in personnel file, or currently operating in performance improvement plan (pip). In addition, the AWS applicant should have a home office environment that will provide the necessary solitude to accomplish job tasks.

VIII. Departmental Expectations

An AWS arrangement cannot succeed without the support and agreement of the Teamor Teams that the AWS worker is a member of.A. An open, positive attitude toward AWS.B. A mutual trust and respect in on-going relationships with the AWS worker.C. Team consensus is that the AWS plan will work for their group.

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IX. AWS Selection Criteria

The Administrative Services Office has created a process for approving AWS workers.This process ensures that employee requests are given proper consideration, and thatcounty and client needs are met. The County Administrator retains the right to approve ordeny requests.

X. AWS Plan

If the candidate meets the job and personal criteria, the candidate may submit a plan as described in Attachment A.

XI. AWS Office Set-up

A. Technology and Hardware

1. All employees will have appropriate technology and hardware to do their job.2. When county equipment is provided to the employee, the employee is

responsible for seeing that the equipment is properly used. Any loss or damage to the equipment must be reported immediately to the employee'ssupervisor and Technology Services.

3. Staff must have available in their home, a high speed Internet connectionwith a minimum download speed of 25MB or higher.

B. Technical Assistance

1. The AWS worker needs to be capable of handling basic fixes to equipment and software. If equipment needs more expert repair, it would be the worker’s responsibility to bring the equipment into the office (or arrange for the Technology Services staff to make a visit to the AWS worker’s home if necessary). In the event of equipment malfunctions, employees must promptly notify their supervisor. If the malfunction precludes employee fromperforming work assignments, employee may be assigned to another project and/or required to return to an on site office setting.

2. Maintenance of all employee-owned equipment is exclusively the responsibility of the AWS worker. Employee owned equipment may include:wireless router, modem, hot spot, or access point. When employee owned equipment fails, the employee must notify his/her supervisor and makes a joint decision about what tasks to work on or whether the employee should work on-site until the equipment is repaired.

3. The AWS worker is responsible for all wear and damage to personal property resulting from the use of the home office. This includes normal wear on homefurnishings, any damage resulting from the installation of additional telephone lines, as well as any accidental damages due to the failure of the county equipment.

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4. The county will bear responsibility for replacing county owned equipment ina timely manner.

D. Personal and Appropriate Use of County owned Equipment

Personal use of computer equipment. Personal use of County hardware and licensed software is permitted. However, such use shall be limited in time and frequency in accordance with County and Departmental policies. It shall be conducted in a manner to limit the interruption of County business. All computer usage remains subject to these policies herein, County Personnel and departmental policies and Mille Lacs County-wide policies. At any time Mille Lacs County reserves the right to monitor and review Internet usage. All activity on County resources is subject to monitoring by authorized staff or designates to ensure system integrity and compliance with security policy and related standards. Such monitoring may include access to computer without notice to the users. The following is an outline of unacceptable personal computer use:

No storage of personal data is allowed on County diskdrives or equivalent storage devices.

Use of personal external devices on county computers, including but not limited to, personal digital cameras, scanners, external storage devices, PDAs, portable media players (such as Ipods or MP3 players) are strictly prohibited unless approved by theunit supervisor and Technology Services.

No gambling or illegal uses are allowed. No activities for personal profit are allowed.

In order to secure the integrity of County data network, the Technology Services will immediately shut down any service, program, or download that is deemed to have the ability to negatively impact the network. This action will be taken immediately and when possible, the firewall will be programmed to block a website.

1. With the knowledge and approval of the employee's supervisor, minimal personal usage of county data processing equipment may be made if it is for the maintenance or betterment of the employee's skills on the equipment or software. The supervisor may monitor the usage.

2. No storage of personal data is allowed on county hard disk drives orequivalent storage devices.

3. No gambling or illegal uses are allowed, even if no storage is necessary. No activities for personal monetary or bartered profit, or other organizations areallowed. No activities are allowed that may harm the equipment. Use of MilleLacs County property in an employee’s home should be used in

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accordance with County and Departmental policies. Use shall be conductedin a manner to limit the interruption of county business. All computer usageremains subject to all other Mille Lacs County policies.

Keep food and beverages, as well as any magnetic devices away from the computer at all times, and limit smoking to outside of the computer area.

E. Software

1. The county will provide any application software or software required forConnection to the county network. The county will maintainsufficient licenses for software to allow the employee to complete work assignments. Software is the property of Mille Lacs County and cannot be installed on employee personal equipment.

2. County purchased software shall not be duplicated for personal use by theemployee.

3. The county will maintain a record of county owned software, hardware, andother property located in the alternate work location.

4. To avoid malware and virus issues, no software may be run on county

equipment that is not approved by Technology Services. Anti-virus software

is installed on all County equipment and instructions for use to all AWS

workers using computers at their remote work location.

See Mille Lacs County Technology Policy Manual for further information.

F. Copyright/Intellectual Property

Use of software, data, and supplies provided by the county at the remote site is limited to authorized persons and for purposes related only to business for the county. All software, written documents, and other materials designed or developedby the employee (regardless of whether on county site or not) are to be considered the property of the county.

G. Furnishings/Ergonomics

The employer shall furnish a county owned laptop, cell phone, and headset neededto facilitate AWS, as approved in the AWS plan.

The employee is responsible for all costs of maintaining a home office, including: electricity, heating, property taxes, insurance, and all other costs relating to the useof a home office. The employee shall provide all furniture required for the AWS office such as a desk, chair, and file cabinets.

H. Designated Work Space

1. AWS Workers must designate a workspace at their alternate work sites. This workspace is subject to the supervisor’s approval. The workspace must accommodate any equipment used for work. AWS Workers must protect the workspace from hazards and dangers that could affect the equipment and themselves. A photo submittal of the alternative work site is required. for assessment. Any on-site visits to assess the quality of the alternative work site will occur with advanced notice.

2. Alternate work site spaces are an extension of the official work location during AWS work hours only. If injured while working at an alternate work site and during AWS work hours, the AWS Worker must report the injury tothe supervisor immediately.

3. Mille Lacs County is not responsible for third party injury or property damage that occurs at the alternate work site.

4. Mille Lacs County is responsible for insuring county equipment. Telecommuters must take steps to minimize damage of theft of county equipment at the alternate work sites. Staff working AWS will follow all relevant County policies after equipment is issued.

5. Mille Lacs County is not liable for any damage or theft of employee-owned equipment.

6. The AWS worker is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate workspace at the home location. Knowing what tasks are to be performed willhelp in identifying office furniture and supply needs.

7. The AWS office should be designed with proper electrical power distribution and adequate amperage to meet the needs of a wide variety of equipment if needed.

XII. Work Schedule

A. The work schedule (including such items as normal workday hours and/or core hours) of the AWS worker will be maintained by the supervisor and the employee. Theexpectation of this program will be that the number of days per week/pay period an employee utilizing AWS will be determined between the supervisor and the employee.

B. The employee will be expected to attend assigned office meetings related to the performance of their job, including those held normally during AWS time. Travel toand from the assigned office shall not be considered as compensable hours.

C. AWS workers must update their status (i.e. Outlook, EIO) if their work status changes for the day.

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D. Work hours and vacation schedule will conform to county policy and to termsotherwise agreed upon by employee and supervisor.

E . If the county VPN network or county servers fail, and an employee was scheduled for an alternative work site for that day, the employee may choose toutilize vacation or personal leave, to the extent they have such time accrued or work their scheduled hours at the alternative work site and be compensated accordingly.

XIII. Expenses

A. Any AWS expenses not specifically covered in this policy will be addressed on a case-by-case basis between the employee and supervisor.

B. An employee may work from his/her home or another alternate work site that hasbeen approved by the employer. Mileage to or from the employee's assigned officeor home shall be considered commute mileage and not subject to reimbursement.Normal work site is defined as the employee’s Mille Lacs County office or designated AWS, and as defined per the annual IRS mileage standards.

C. The AWS worker agrees that all county owned property will be returned to thecounty at the county’s request.

XIV. Taxes

Individual's tax implications related to the home workspace shall be the responsibility of the AWS worker. Employees are advised to consult a tax expert.

XV. Liability

A. The employee's home is considered a work site only during scheduled working ours for purposes of worker's compensation. Mille Lacs County does not assume responsibility for third-party injury or property damage that may occur at the AWS worker’s residence or within the designated AWS work space.

B. An employee is covered by the county's Worker's Compensation laws during AWSstatus. Coverage includes identified AWS work space during the agreed upon working hours. Any work injury that occurs must be reported to the supervisor immediately and reported using the County's standard injury reporting process.

C. The county does not assume any liability for loss, damage or wear of employee owned equipment, furniture, etc. The AWS worker is responsible for insuring employee-owned equipment, unless otherwise agreed to in writing before a loss.

D. The county is responsible for insuring county-owned equipment only. The AWSworker has the same responsibility for taking appropriate steps to minimize damage to county-owned property at the home site as at the office site.

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XVI. Family Interaction

AWS workers shall manage dependent care and personal responsibilities in a way that allows them to successfully meet their job responsibilities. AWS is not to be used for dependent care. AWS workers may have dependents in the AWS during work hours if those dependents are self-sufficient, or are being cared for by another person.

XVII. Home Office Visits

A. No county or work related meetings should be held at the AWS site without priorapproval by the AWS employee's supervisor.

B. AWS employees shall not hold business meetings with internal or external clients,customers, or colleagues at their residence (alternative work site).

C. To reduce maintenance and security risks to stored data, the use of county ownedequipment and software by family members and associates is strictly prohibited.

D. Any equipment provided by the county is for use by authorized personnel only, andis for purposes related to county business only.

XVIII. Data Security

A. The employee shall secure confidential files or information in compliance with the following: Mille Lacs County Policies, Departmental guidelines, Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA),Minnesota Data Practices Act (MDPA), Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPPA), and / or other appropriate Federal / State statutes.

B. The AWS worker and supervisor should discuss the type and form of data which willbe physically taken to and from the alternate work site, and agree on the security and transfer process necessary to meet the needs of their unit.

C. AWS workers must provide reasonable security of data and information they carryto and from their office site. Simple measures such as removing disks and documents that contain sensitive data and placing them in secure storage may prevent a major and potentially costly security breach or loss of information to thecounty.

D. Employees will take all precautions necessary to secure proprietary information andprevent unauthorized access to any county system or data from their home; i.e. lockable file cabinet, drawers, and positioning monitors.

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XIX. Supervisor’s Performance Reviews for AWS Employees

Performance reviews for AWS employees shall be completed on the same schedule and manner as non-AWS employees. The AWS plan shall be reviewed initially at 6 months and as part of the annual performance appraisal process or at any time the supervisor or employee wants to review the AWS plan.

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