Policy statement:
As a state government employer, The Evergreen State College is committed to supporting and contributing to the economy of the local community and the State of Washington by ensuring that employees of the college work at the Olympia campus, the Tacoma Program, or another location within the State of Washington. The college also understands that for unique and rare circumstances, employees may have a work location outside of Washington. This policy and the Telework Policy establishes basic requirements for employee requests and considerations for working outside of Washington State.
This policy applies to:
This policy applies to all classified and exempt staff, temporary hourly employees, and student staff.
This policy does not apply to newly hired staff employees who begin their employment prior to and/or while in the process of relocating from out-of-state, employees traveling for college business purposes, and employees whose job description requires work from off-campus sites within the State of Washington.
Approval for working out-of-state (work location in a state other than Washington and within the United States)
Employees may have a work location outside of Washington when they are hired to perform their job duties out-of-state or when current telework eligible employees receive advance approval to become an out-of-state worker. Approval for hiring an employee to work out-of-state or for current employees to become an out-of-state worker is at the discretion of the President or their designee, will be made in accordance with this policy, and the work unit’s business and operational needs. Examples of reasons for approving an out-of-state work arrangement includes, but is not limited to:
- Demonstrated two or more recent failed competitive recruitment efforts.
- Critical and hard to find skill-based requirements and qualifications of the position and/or the person.
- The position purpose and essential functions of the positions are best performed out-of-state (e.g., Admissions Counselor assigned to a specific state or region of the country).
- Current employee whose military spouse has been deployed to another location within the United States.
Employees, whose regular worksite is located in another state within the United States, are designated remote out-of-state employees. The employee’s personal residence or other non-college work location is their “official duty station” for the purposes of travel, reimbursement, compensation, and federal reporting.
Remote out-of-state employee telework agreement
Out-of-state employees are considered to have a regular telework arrangement and must have a telework agreement in place. Telework agreements are meant to be responsive to changing needs, and should be reviewed and updated both as needs change and, at a minimum, annually. The telework agreement for an out-of-state worker only lasts as long as the employment relationship itself.
Furnishing equipment
The Evergreen State College does not maintain an equipped workspace at a college work site for out-of-state employees. Work units are required to provide support and reimburse and/or provide the equipment and supplies, which they deem necessary to enable out-of-state employees to perform their duties and other authorized activities, in accordance with college policies governing reimbursement of business expenses. Upon termination, all college-issued equipment must be returned to the college.
Policy considerations
As outlined in the Telework Policy, remote teleworking remote out-of-state teleworking employees must comply with all work unit and institutional policies including, but not limited to policies addressing appropriate use of college resources.
Employee responsibilities if working out-of-state
Employees working remotely in a state other than Washington are responsible for verifying that their home/primary address is accurately reflected in the payroll system. Taxes, payroll deductions, and the applicability of other labor and employment laws may be different depending on the state where the work is performed (see below).
Whether an individual is subject to income tax in a particular state is typically driven by tax residence. Unfortunately, there is no uniform threshold after which employees working out-of-state become subject to tax in that location. Each state’s income tax and withholding requirements vary significantly, and may be based on both personal residence and/or work location. In many cases, whether an employee is domiciled or maintains a residence in the state and is “present” in that state for the majority of the tax year may make the individual a resident for tax purposes. Employees should familiarize themselves with the residency requirements and tax laws of any proposed out-of-state work location. Guidelines for determining residency status in a state may be found on their state tax authority website.
Considerations when working in another U.S. state
When employees work out-of-state, in addition to other teleworking considerations, employees and work units should consider the following compliance-related impacts:
Workers’ compensation – Employees are covered by workers’ compensation for job-related injuries that occur in the course and scope of employment. However, employees who work outside of Washington are not covered by Washington State Department of Labor & Industries Workers’ Compensation industrial insurance. The college does not take Washington State Workers’ Compensation wage deductions from employees whose work location is out-of-state.
Out-of-state employees must report any work-related illness or injury to their supervisor immediately, and complete and submit an accident report as an internal record of the incident within 24 hours of the event. The claim filing process will be specific to the state in which the injury occurred.
Paid Family & Medical Leave (PFML) – Employees who work outside of Washington are not covered by the Washington State Paid Family & Medical Leave (PFML) program. The college does not take PFML deductions or report hours and wages for employees whose work location is out-of-state. Employees who work in a state outside of Washington may be covered by a similar program in the state in which they work.
Unemployment insurance – Employees who work outside of Washington are not covered by Washington unemployment insurance unless there is a reciprocal coverage arrangement in place with that state. Employees who work in a state outside of Washington may be covered by an unemployment insurance program in the state in which they work.
Out-of-state Tax withholding – Both the employee’s work location and the location of the employee’s residence may trigger state withholding, depending on state law. If the employee meets the requirements for state taxation and has accurately updated their work location in the payroll system, the college withholds the applicable taxes for that state.
Compensation and Exemption from Overtime – Compensation for out-of-state employees follows the same compensation policies and guidelines as established by college policy, civil service rules, or applicable collective bargaining agreement language, regardless of the employee’s work location. This includes applying Washington minimum wage except where a specific state or local law exceeds. Exemption from overtime follows the rules of Washington State Labor & Industries and the Fair Labor Standards Act, regardless of the employee’s work location.
Health insurance and benefit impacts – Eligibility for health insurance plans varies based on work location and home address as established by the Washington State Healthcare Authority.
Travel between locations – The costs of voluntary travel to and from a college worksite for out-of-state teleworkers is the responsibility of the individual employees. The travel office and OFM SAAM describes travel reimbursement for official business travel between the employee’s official duty station (work location) and a temporary duty station.
Also see:
- Telework Policy