It's important for all employees to maintain a healthy, safe and ergonomically sound work environment while working in the office or at a remote location. The opportunity to participate in a home telework program is offered with the understanding that it is the responsibility of the employee to ensure that a proper work environment is maintained.

Telework employees are responsible for ensuring their homes comply with health and safety requirements and for so certifying as part of the “Teleworker’s Agreement". Management may deny an employee the opportunity to telework or may rescind a telework agreement based on safety of the home or suspected hazardous materials in the home. Management may also have the home office inspected for compliance with health and safety requirements. 

The teleworker will be expected to designate a workspace in their home for the performance of their telework duties that allows for working in an office setting and ensuring that the equipment necessary to perform the work is in the designated area. The county will not be responsible for costs associated with the initial set up of the employees home office such as furniture or lighting, or repairs for modification to the home office space. (The employee will be required to provide a desk, chair, lighting, etc. After initial set up, a designated representative of the county will visit the employee’s work site to inspect for possible work hazards and suggest modifications.)

The teleworker is required to meet the following conditions.

  • Ensure that the home office is a safe place to work
  • Keep personal disruptions such as non-business telephone calls and visitors to a minimum
  • Ensure the protection of proprietary county information accessible from their home. Steps include, but are not limited to the use of locked facilities, disk boxes and desks and other steps appropriate for the job and environment
  • Make advance arrangements for dependant care to ensure a productive work environment (telework is not a substitute for day care or other personal obligations)
  • Obtain pre-approval from the supervisor for use of vacation time or sick leave to attend to family or home matters during home office hours
  • Ensure work area is free of obstructions to eliminate trip and fall hazards
  • Ensure work area has proper lighting, ventilation and furniture
  • Set up the home work site in an ergonomically-correct fashion