Remote Work Agreement

A remote work agreement records work location, schedule, equipment, expenses, security and return-to-office expectations within an employment relationship and defines administration, payment and exit terms.

A useful document turns the parties' actual arrangement into measurable duties, approvals, timing, remedies, and a reliable execution record. Its terms should be reconciled to the transaction rather than copied from an unrelated form.

• An employee shifts to a hybrid schedule
• A company approves fully remote work in another state
• A manager documents a temporary remote arrangement

The document name alone does not determine the right structure. Consider a different instrument or qualified legal review when any of these conditions applies:

• Do not use this agreement for a change that would deny a required disability accommodation without individualized review.
• Do not use this agreement for a contractor engagement being administered as employment.

Record exact facts before clauses are written. Names, authority, dates, amounts, defined terms, dependencies, and incorporated materials should be verifiable and consistent.

• Employer, employee and eligibility facts: approved worksite, state, time zone and days on site.
• Performance and administration: availability windows, timekeeping, breaks and manager contact.
• Compensation and cost treatment: equipment, connectivity, expense reimbursement and property return.
• Legal and policy constraints: data security, confidential calls and reasonable-accommodation process.

These decisions shape the allocation of responsibility and should not be left for boilerplate to decide:

• Which state and local employment rules apply
• How off-hours work is recorded
• Who pays required business expenses
• How an accommodation request is reviewed

• Eligibility, effective period and core arrangement for work location, schedule, equipment, expenses, security and return-to-office expectations.
• Duties and administration covering availability windows, timekeeping, breaks and manager contact, approvals, changes and records.
• Compensation, benefits, reimbursements and payroll rules for equipment, connectivity, expense reimbursement and property return.
• Compliance and worker protections addressing data security, confidential calls and reasonable-accommodation process, controlling law and incorporated policies.
• Changes, termination and separation rules covering schedule revision, location change and termination of remote arrangement, notices, final accounting and survival.

Every provision should use the same parties, dates, standards, defined terms, and document hierarchy. A clause that is reasonable by itself can still create a conflict when it is not reconciled with payment, default, termination, or another exhibit.

1. 01Describe the intended result and the relationship in plain language.
2. 02Confirm parties, authority, governing jurisdiction, dates, money, property, services, and approvals.
3. 03Resolve the key decisions and identify every schedule, exhibit, disclosure, consent, or filing.
4. 04Draft the provisions as one consistent system, then review the complete execution set before signature.

Remote work does not remove wage-and-hour duties, and location changes can affect payroll and employment obligations.

The main agreement may establish the framework while schedules, exhibits, disclosures, consents, or operational records supply transaction-specific details.

• Remote schedule and worksite approval
• Equipment and expense inventory
• Security and timekeeping acknowledgment

Each incorporated document should be identified precisely, use the same names and effective date, and follow a stated order of precedence if terms conflict.

Confirm approved worksite, state, time zone and days on site and reconcile this agreement with payroll, benefits and personnel records. Attach the remote schedule and worksite approval; configure approvals for availability windows, timekeeping, breaks and manager contact; document the treatment of equipment, connectivity, expense reimbursement and property return and data security, confidential calls and reasonable-accommodation process. On a change or separation, apply schedule revision, location change and termination of remote arrangement under the governing jurisdiction.

• Confirm legal names, roles, capacity, addresses, and signing authority
• Reconcile dates, amounts, definitions, cross-references, schedules, and exhibits
• Confirm that duties, deadlines, approvals, acceptance standards, and payment triggers are measurable
• Check that default, termination, remedies, and surviving obligations work together
• Complete jurisdiction-specific forms, notices, witnesses, notarization, filings, or professional review when applicable
• Deliver and preserve the complete signed package with its incorporated documents

These sources provide federal, state-resource, regulatory, or institutional context. They do not replace checking the law and required forms applicable to the parties, transaction, and governing jurisdiction.

1. Source 1

   Field Assistance Bulletin 2023-1: Telework under the FLSA and FMLA

   U.S. Department of Labor. Official guidance that covered nonexempt teleworkers must be paid for all hours worked and describing breaks and FMLA worksite issues.

2. Source 2

   Fact Sheet #21: Recordkeeping Requirements under the Fair Labor Standards Act

   U.S. Department of Labor. Identifies covered employers' wage, hour and payroll recordkeeping requirements.

3. Source 3

   Work at Home/Telework as a Reasonable Accommodation

   U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Explains circumstances in which telework may be a reasonable accommodation.