Out of State and International Work

While it is important that our staff work where students come to work, learn, and live, the University recognizes that, under certain circumstances, Flexible Work Arrangements (FWA) including out-of-state and international work locations may be necessary. Not all positions will be eligible for remote flexible work due to their highly interactive, student, faculty, or staff serving responsibilities. 

Generally, out of state remote work is disfavored as it results in additional administrative oversight, in addition, there is an impact to the employee’s benefits and withholdings. For this reason, out-of-state agreements are rare and typically occur under extenuating or other business specific circumstances. See below for information on how to manage work locations outside of Texas.

Out of State Remote Work

University business offices (HR, Payroll, Tax Services, Texas Global, Legal, etc.) have a shared priority to ensure operations continue where the university has a strategic presence. At this time, the only state where the university is not able to employ remote workers is Colorado. Colorado remote work triggers compliance requirements that impact university policies, processes, and systems. See below for steps you will need to take if your employee moves out of state.

International Remote Work 

SafeGuard was selected through a Request for Proposal (RFP) for a Professional Employer Organization (PEO). SafeGuard will be the employer of record for global employees: 

• Administer employee benefits adhering to country specific norms
• Ensure tax compliance
• Adhere to local labor laws
• Process payroll in local currency

Colleges, schools and units (CSUs) choosing to employ globally will pay the employee’s salary plus the PEO administrative fee plus reasonable and customary benefits for the employee. Costs will fluctuate based on the employment package offered. Employees will be contractors and have an affiliate status with UT Austin.

SafeGuard will only accept employment requests from the HR Leadership Council member for the CSU and/or the Business Officer. If the arrangement involves a researcher, Office of Sponsored Projects (OSP) must approve prior to beginning the arrangement. If a faculty member, Faculty Affairs and the Provost's Office must approve. International employment inquiries submitted to internationaloutofstate@austin.utexas.edu should come from or include the HR Leadership Council member or Chief Business Officer for the college, school or unit (CSU).

Temporary remote international work is allowed under certain conditions. The requirement is that employees maintain a permanent United States residence and not have any disruption to their United States work authorization. Because this is not a change to their permanent United States residence, there is no need to update Workday locations such as position, home address, primary work or alternate work location. Temporary is defined as:

Temporary is defined as:

• An academic year for 9-month faculty assignments
• A fiscal year for 12-mo faculty assignments
• Less than or equal to 12-months for Administrative & Professional (A&P) or Classified research staff who report to faculty
• Less than or equal to 90 days for Administrative & Professional (A&P) or Classified research and non-research staff who do not report to faculty
• Student assignments less than or equal to a semester

Security

Refer to the Information Security Office website for information travel to Foreign Adversary Nations. Global Risk and Safety provides information and resources related to Faculty and Staff International travel. 

What should I do if my employee has moved?

The next steps for the employee, supervisor and department HR contact include updating locations in Workday and completing and uploading the Flexible Work Agreement (FWA) to Workday. 

Update Work Locations

Certain states, counties, cities and/or municipalities require income tax withholdings. Employees should be instructed to confirm or update their address in Workday. An update to an employee’s home address will prompt the state tax election task for them to complete, ensuring Payroll withholds the appropriate amount of state and local taxes from their paychecks. New employees will be prompted in Workday to do the same as part of their onboarding tasks. This is not required for temporary remote work assignments.

Below are the instructions for employees to update their address information in Workday. Remote employees should also update their Alternate Work Location. 

Steps to Update Addresses in Workday:

1. Click on the Personal Information application
2. Click on Contact information, located in the left panel
3. Click the Edit button, located at the top left corner of screen
4. To edit your existing Home Addresses, click the pencil icon to the right

To add an Alternate Work Location, follow these steps:

1. Scroll down to the Work Contact Information section
2. Click the Add button, located under the Alternate Work Location section
3. Checkmark the Use Primary Home Address box
4. The Effective Date should reflect the date you are making the change
5. Update any other Contact Information as needed
6. Click Submit to save your changes

Department HR contacts are responsible for updating the Position Location and ensuring employees update their Home Address in Workday. Step by step instructions can be found here:

• Edit Personal Data for Worker – WIG
• Edit Position Restrictions – WIG
• Start Job Change - WIG

Insurance Impact

Benefit eligible employees are usually subject to out-of-network insurance coverage; employees should direct questions to their Benefits Representative. 

Flexible Work Arrangement:

The employee and supervisor must complete the Flexible Work Agreement (FWA); once completed the HR contact may upload the FWA to Workday. New employees should complete an FWA as they complete their other onboarding tasks. The HR website provides more information about Staff Work Arrangements.

Questions

Contact the International and Out of State Review Committee or your SWS Consultant with employment related questions. For assessment of the impact to an employee’s benefits, contact your Benefit Representative. You can use the lookup tool to Find Your HR Representative.