CALS leadership has put in place modified Remote Work Expectations and Guidance effective September 1, 2022, through August 31, 2023. This new guidance will continue to support a hybrid workplace environment for faculty and staff, while supporting the overall goals and mission of the college and UW-Madison as whole.
The revised Remote Work Expectations and Guidance will continue to allow CALS departments and centers and their supervisors the ability to determine what level of flexibility will meet the needs of their units to continue operations. We ask that each department or unit in the college continue to follow their approved philosophy on remote work. If revisions to the philosophy statement are needed, please submit changes to veronica.law@wisc.edu.
The deadline to submit the new Remote Work Agreement form for the Academic Year 2022-23 was August 15, 2022.
Employees may seek reasonable accommodations through the CALS DDR in Human Resources if an employee’s medical condition(s) may be better managed with an alternative work location arrangement. Non-recurring flexibilities to employee schedules (for dentist appointments, etc.) may be discussed directly with a supervisor.
The CALS Remote Work Expectations and Guidance will be reviewed each spring (prior to annual parking deadlines) for the next academic year with an effective date at the start of the academic year.
Please note that CALS continues to expect most job responsibilities to be carried out primarily on‐site and that all departments/units consider equitable application of the UW-Madison Remote Work Policy.
Please see information regarding Remote Work Agreement Appeals in the corresponding section below.
Note: Each S/C/D determines the specific procedures for evaluating and approving or denying a remote work request. This resource is intended as a general resource. The process outlined in this resource may differ based on the S/C/D.
The CALS Remote Work Expectations and Guidance will be reviewed each spring (prior to annual parking deadlines) for the next academic year with an effective date at roughly the start of the academic year (9/1).
If an employee’s remote work request is outside of their unit’s philosophy and the request is either denied or modified by a unit or supervisor, the employee may submit an appeal to rwa@cals.wisc.edu for Dean Gillaspy’s review.
Please include the following in the request:
What is the unit’s current philosophy?
What is the remote work request?
Why should this be considered for approval despite being outside of the unit’s philosophy?
A written decision will be provided to the employee once the review has been completed. Dean Gillaspy’s decision regarding remote work requests is final and may not be appealed further.
CALS employees with existing remote work agreements:
With supervisory and unit approval, employees may extend their remote work agreement from the current end date of June 30, 2022 through August 31, 2022
CALS HR is partnering with departmental/center HR staff and supervisors/managers to automatically extend existing remote work agreements without the need to re-submit the online remote work agreement form
Employees will receive written notification no later than June 30, 2022 regarding the status of their remote work agreement extension request
CALS expected to revisit the current approach after the fiscal year given the number of significant leadership changes scheduled to occur at the system, campus, and college level in the coming months and based on the latest public health and operational considerations
CALS continued to expect most job responsibilities to be carried out primarily on-site and that all departments/units consider equitable application of the campus remote work policy
Reminders:
Remote working agreements only pertain to employees with remote work on a recurring, weekly schedule
Off-site work arrangements resulting from accommodations, for example, for medical reasons, will continue to follow the existing, separate process
Remote work agreements are unnecessary for workplace flexibilities, such as attending a dentist appointment
These nonrecurring flexibilities will continue to be agreed upon by employees and supervisors in accordance with UW–Madison leave policies
Please contact the CALS HR manager assigned to your unit with any questions.
June 30, 2022: Employees who receive supervisory approval to continue their remote work agreement, as is, through the end of the fiscal year, received written notification by June 30, 2022 regarding the status of their remote work agreement
August 31, 2022: This is the latest date a for which a remote work agreement was extended for the academic year
For those employees with existing remote work agreements, CALS Human Resources (HR) is partnered with departmental/center HR staff and supervisors/managers to extend existing remote work agreements through June 30, 2022. Those employees who received supervisory approval to continue their remote work agreement, as is, through the end of the fiscal year received written notification regarding the status of their remote work agreement no later than Dec. 31, 2021.
CALS Human Resources (HR) is available to assist employees and supervisors with questions related to the extension process, or to discuss how to make other types of changes to the existing remote work agreement.
All units considered requests for any new remote work agreements based on the philosophy statements units were asked to craft for the fall 2021. CALS revisited the current approach during spring 2022, based on the latest public health and operational considerations.
CALS continued to expect most job responsibilities to be carried out primarily on-site and that all departments/units consider equitable application of the policy.
As a reminder, remote working agreements only pertain to employees with remote work on a recurring, weekly schedule. Off-site work arrangements resulting from accommodations, for example for medical reasons, will continue to follow the existing, separate process. Remote work agreements are unnecessary for workplace flexibilities, such as attending a dentist appointment. These nonrecurring flexibilities will continue to be agreed upon by employees and supervisors in accordance with UW–Madison leave policies.
