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. See below for information on how to request and 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. 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. All employees need to follow the University’s policies related to travel, including travel time and travel reimbursement.

For out of state or international work arrangements longer than 90 days for staff positions, department HR contacts submit high level job and worker information to internationaloutofstate@austin.utexas.edu. These employment details are evaluated against state specific wage and hour or employment laws.

Department HR contacts will receive confirmation that there are no wage & hour or employment law concerns for the proposed out of state location. If there are concerns, or the request is for international remote work, next steps will be provided.

At this time, the only state the university is not able to employ remote workers in is Colorado. Colorado remote work triggers compliance requirements that impact university policies, processes, and systems.

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).

Location Reporting

HR Partner and HR Executive roles can run Filled Position Details - RPT0245 in Workday which includes both Worker Home Address and Position Location fields.
Departments are responsible for updating the Position Location, as well as ensuring that employees update their Home Address and Alternate Work Location in Workday.

An update to their home address will prompt the state tax election task for them to complete to ensure Payroll withholds the appropriate amount of state and local taxes from their checks.
Step by step instructions can be found here:

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.