FILE:  GAMK

Cf:  EFA

REMOTE WORK

The West Baton Rouge Parish School Board (hereinafter “WBR”) considers remote work to be a viable, flexible work option for specific positions, when both the needs of the District and the nature of the job are suited to such an arrangement. Working remotely is not an entitlement, right, or benefit to which any given employee is entitled.  Nor does remote work change, in any way, the terms and conditions of employment with West Baton Rouge Parish Schools.

AUTHORIZATION

Authorization to work remotely will be determined by, and is in the sole discretion of, the Superintendent or Superintendent’s designee.

ELIGIBILITY

Before any employee is allowed to work remotely, the employee and his/her supervisor, with the assistance of the human resources department, will evaluate the suitability of such an arrangement, as well as the proposed schedule for remote work.  If the Supervisor is of the opinion that the proposed remote work arrangement would not hamper the operations of the School Board, the supervisor shall forward said request to the Superintendent noting his/her approval.  Final approval of the arrangement will be made, in writing, by the Superintendent or Superintendent’s designee only.  Employees approved to work from home must be available by telephone, email or video conferencing to the same extent that they would be during an onsite workday.  Additionally, an employee is expected to efficiently and effectively perform all of his/her assigned tasks while working remotely.  For any employee who has been authorized to work remotely, the authority for remote work can be rescinded, at any time and for any reason, by the employee’s supervisor or the Superintendent. 

Evaluation of the remote work arrangement will include, in addition to all other evaluation factors related to the position, the employee’s regular interaction by phone, video conference and email between the employee and the supervisor, and possible daily meetings to discuss work progress and problems.  The supervisor will evaluate the arrangement and make recommendations for continuance or modifications.  Evaluation of employee performance while working remotely will be consistent with that received by employees working onsite in both content and frequency but will focus on work output, completion of objectives, and designated timelines.

EQUIPMENT

On a case-by-case basis, WBR will determine, with information supplied by the employee and the supervisor, the appropriate equipment needed for each remote work arrangement.  WBR, however, is under no obligation to supply an employee with any equipment needed in order to facilitate remote work.  Equipment supplied by WBR is to be used for business purposes only and will be maintained by the District.  Upon termination of employment, all company property will be returned to the district.  Equipment supplied by the employee, if deemed appropriate by the organization, will be maintained by the employee.  The WBR District accepts no responsibility for damage or repairs to employee-owned equipment.

The employee will establish an appropriate work environment within his or her home for work purposes. WBR will not be responsible for costs associated with the setups of the employee’s home office, such as remodeling, furniture or lighting, nor for repairs or modifications to the home office space.  Nor will WBR be responsible for any internet or service connection required in order for the employee to work remotely.

As outlined in the WBR Acceptable Use Policy, a system administrator or other authorized District staff member may, at any time and without advance notice to employee, monitor, access, modify, remove, review, retrieve and or disclose the subject, content and appropriateness of any and all information stored or transmitted on district technology resources, including information that may have been deleted but still exists on the system.

SECURITY AND CONFIDENTIALITY

Consistent with district expectations of data security for employees working at the office, in accordance with the WBR Acceptable Use Policy, employees approved to work remotely will be expected to ensure the protection of proprietary information accessible from their home office.  Steps include regular password maintenance and any other measures appropriate for the job and the environment.

An employee who is approved to work from home shall recognize and respect confidential information acquired in the course of employment regarding individual student safety, education, health, and personal information of students and their families as well as information acquired about personnel.  Employees need to be cognizant of others in their home work space and consider confidentiality when talking with students, parents and/or staff via telephone, email and video conferencing.

New policy:  May 15, 2024

Ref:    La. Rev. Stat. Ann. §17:81

Board minutes, 5-15-24

West Baton Rouge Parish School Board