Human Resources

Out of State Employment Processes

1. Background.

   Recognizing that remote work arrangements for faculty and staff appointments are becoming necessary to address critical needs, special business processes have been established to ensure compliance with state and local employment laws (e.g., taxes, unemployment benefits, workplace safety, minimum wage, etc.) based on the state where the employee is working.  An external company is being used to provide guidance and assistance in helping the university comply with state-specific employment laws, regulations, and policies.

2. Process Steps

   1. Determine if the desired employee will work from a state that is approved for out-of-state employment ( Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Kentucky, North Carolina, Ohio, South Carolina, Texas, and Washington). 

      1. If Yes, go to step 2.

      2. If No, an offer of employment cannot be extended(*).

         Note* - If there are questions about the state of the principal work location for the employee, consult with Payroll for guidance (Example - The employee lives in Kentucky but commutes to campus 5 days a week, Or is working remotely from Kentucky). 

   2. Complete the normal employment and onboarding steps (e.g., offer, PAF, I9, Tax forms, Direct Deposit, etc.).   The section on the PAF specifying the work location will be used by HR and Payroll to determine if out-of-state compliance steps are necessary.  All remote work arrangements, whether in-state or out-of-state, require an Alternate Work Arrangement Agreement.

   3. If anything changes about the employee’s work location or remote work arrangement, consult with HR and Payroll to determine if any compliance-related actions must be initiated based on the change.

(*) If deemed necessary, based on unique and compelling needs, additional employment relationships with other states must be reviewed with Human Resources, Payroll, and Budget Office in advance to discuss the additional costs that apply (e.g., external consultant fees and internal payroll support staff).  The Payroll Office currently has no capacity to handle additional states and still meets its primary functions of ensuring that current employees are paid timely, efficient and accurate processing, and regulatory reporting is maintained.