Good afternoon,
We are off to a good start on workers filling out the DHHS Telework Approval Form. To date, 708 forms have been submitted. Thanks to all involved in preparing and starting this process.
Some of you have asked whether there is a paper print-out of the form. While there isn’t one, the various DHHS Telework Approval Form Training slides show all the fields in the form. You can find these training slides on our Office Re-entry Planning for DHHS Staff site. We encourage you to review that before you start filling it out.
Also, if you submitted a Form and want to make a change prior to your supervisor’s review or approval, you should start a new form and check “request a change.” You will need to fully fill out a new form. Your supervisor will be alerted to the new form so you don’t need to directly inform them.
We have newly posted training slides for supervisors on reviews and approvals on the site. This should help supervisors as they start reviews the week of June 20 – with a reminder that we aim to conclude the approval process by no later than July 29.
We continue to update the Frequently Asked Questions about the DHHS policy. Additional answers were added today, which have “(6/8/22)” after the question.
We also continue to field questions answerable by reading the DHHS Telework Policy. Please read it before filling out or reviewing a DHHS Telework Approval Form. A few highlights from this document include:
- Telework Authorizations are intended for employees who live within regular and reasonable commuting distance of their headquarters office. A request for a Telework Authorization for an employee residing outside of the State of Maine must be reviewed and approved in advance by the Bureau of Human Resources, due to the complexity of labor laws, tax requirements, and other rules and regulations. An employee with an existing Telework Authorization that moves outside of the State of Maine must obtain prior approval to continue teleworking from BHR and leadership as required by an employee’s Department or agency.
- To be eligible for telework, employees must demonstrate: dependability and the ability to handle responsibility, self-motivate, prioritize work effectively, utilize good time management skills, work with their supervisor to clearly define tasks and performance expectations appropriate for telework, and establish an appropriate telework workspace.
- Teleworking employees are expected to be focused on their work, in a dedicated space, and must not be responsible for caring for children or others during their scheduled work hours. Time spent taking care of household tasks or personal business is not considered time worked.
- The State will assign only one set of IT equipment to an employee, based on the nature and type of work performed and as approved by a supervisor; this can include a laptop, docking station, keyboard, mouse, appropriate number of monitors, printer, etc. If an employee has a designated workspace and equipment at their headquarters location, they will not be provided duplicate equipment for a telework location. A detailed inventory will be maintained of any equipment removed from an employee’s headquarters location to a telework worksite.
- Time spent teleworking must be reported in the same manner as if the employee were working at their assigned headquarters. Employees who telework are subject to standard overtime provisions; overtime may be worked only when approved in advance by a supervisor.
We continue to stand ready to assist you as we move into this next phase and to collect general questions at: employeequestions.dhhs@maine.gov.
Thanks, Jeanne
Jeanne M. Lambrew, PhD,
Commissioner