FLEXIBLE AND REMOTE WORK GUIDELINES (Updated February 3, 2022)
These guidelines are generally applicable to RFCUNY Field Employees. Given that RFCUNY Field Employees work on a campus and at the direction of a principal investigator/project director, please refer to CUNY's guidelines and the local campus's guidelines on these topics, where applicable. Here is a sampling of frequently asked questions on flexible schedules and remote work arrangements.
Flexible Work Arrangements
RFCUNY field employees may work modified schedules including flexible hours and condensed work weeks after consultation with and approval by their Principal Investigator/Project Director (“manager”). In this connection, please refer to CUNY’s Guidelines for Flexible Work Arrangements. Notwithstanding the foregoing, prior to implementing any modified schedule, managers and staff must take adequate steps and make appropriate arrangements to ensure that project operations will continue without interruption while modified schedules are in place.
Flexible hours involve modifying starting and ending times of regular daily hours, while a condensed work week involves working the same number of hours per workweek or per pay period as required but in fewer days. In all such cases, the agreed upon flexible work schedule must be documented in the RFCUNY e-Timesheet system, as you would document a regular summer hours schedule.
Remote Work Arrangements
In general, any RFCUNY field employee may be eligible to work remotely for all or part of the employee’s regular workweek. This type of alternate work arrangement may not be appropriate for all positions or employees. The manager will determine if the individual’s position and responsibilities lend themselves to remote work. In this connection, please refer to CUNY’s Guidelines on Remote Work.
Remote Work Agreement
Any such arrangements must be documented in a RFCUNY Remote Work Agreement. This documentation is needed for many purposes, including inspection, upon demand, by the sponsor of your project and for reconciliation of payroll records. A copy will also be placed in the employee’s personnel file.
Please send the fully executed Remote Work Agreement to Nida_Balal@rfcuny.org as soon as possible.
Reasonable and Other Accommodations
There may be employees who have concerns about returning to work in-person due to their own medical issues that may put them at higher risk, or other accommodations (i.e, childcare, health of others in their household). RF Field Employees who are requesting an accommodation due to their own illness should request a reasonable accommodation as outlined on the RFCUNY website. Employees who have concerns about returning to work in-person for non-medical reasons, also known as general accommodation requests, should refer to their CUNY campus and/or their local workplace guidelines, on this topic. In cases where a general accommodation is not approved, other options such as FMLA leave, leaves of absence, or use of annual leave, may also be available.
Accommodation requests will be reviewed by the program manager, in consultation with RFCUNY HR, on a case-by-case basis and in accordance with applicable federal, state and local law.