Initiating a Temporary Overseas Remote Work Arrangement (TORWA)
Faculty and staff who, for personal reasons, want to work from an international (non-U.S.) location for 14 consecutive calendar days or more will use the Temporary Overseas Remote Work Arrangement (TORWA) request form. (A different process is applicable when the nature of the work requires the employee to work internationally.)
The following process is used to initiate a TORWA.
The employee will complete a Work Arrangement Application selecting "Outside United States of America" as the primary work location, then the desired country where the work will be performed. Once submitted, the employee will be prompted to complete a TORWA.
The employee will need to provide the following information:
- Reason for their request
- Citizenship
- Immigration status
- Remote work location
- Requested dates for remote work (which cannot exceed 180 calendar days)
- Acknowledgment that the employee may be personally responsible for additional expenses associated with remote work from the requested location
In some situations, employees are not eligible to work outside of the U.S. such as:
- Student employees, including graduate students
- Teaching faculty
- Faculty and staff with less than 12 months of employment with the university
- Employees cannot work from certain countries due to export control or other legal restrictions: China, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Sudan, Syria, and the Crimea Region of the Ukraine
- Employees cannot work nor be paid in India due to India’s entity taxation laws
- Employees performing work or transporting items that are precluded by International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) and/or the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) compliance requirements
- Employees whose work would require the university to register as a permanent establishment in a foreign country based on that country’s laws
College/Organization Review
An employee’s request will be reviewed by their college/organization. Requests should be approved by a college/organization only if there is a significant business reason for an individual to perform services outside of the U.S. and all other possible options have been exhausted. If the college/organization supports the request, it will provide additional information including:
- Significant business reason for allowing international work
- Employee’s job responsibilities
- Salary
- Salary funding source
- Work schedule
- Equipment/materials that are required
The university will review the business reason for the request to determine whether the request should be considered further. If the university is satisfied with the business reason, the request will be reviewed by relevant university offices to evaluate various types of legal and compliance risks associated with employing someone to work in the international location.
Risk categories include but are not limited to:
- Taxation
- Employer registration requirements
- Immigration factors
- Benefits coverage
If the analysis determines that risks associated with the international remote work are manageable, then the request for international work may be approved. A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) will be drafted in consultation with the Office of the General Counsel to clarify responsibilities and expectations of the employee, the college/organization, and the university, including the fact that any unexpected costs to the university associated with the remote work arrangement will be sustained by the employing college/organization. All parties must sign the MOU prior to the employee initiating their international remote work.
The remote work arrangement will be subject to review and change at the discretion of the employing college/organization, in accordance with the Flexible Work Arrangement Policy.