TELECOMMUTING AGREEMENT

I have read and understand the attached Management Telecommuting Policy, and agree to the duties, obligations, responsibilities and the conditions for telecommuters expressed in that document, in addition to my normal duties, obligations and responsibilities as a Pacific Bell Management Employee.

I agree that, among other things I am responsible for establishing specific scheduled telecommuting work hours, furnishing and maintaining my designed work space in a safe manner, employing appropriate telecommuting security measures and protecting Company assets, information, trade secrets, and information systems. I also understand and have completed Exhibit A, attached hereto.

I understand that telecommuting is voluntary and I may stop telecommuting at will at any time. I also understand that the company may at will, at any time, change any or all of the conditions under which I am permitted to telecommute or withdraw permission to telecommute.



Employee Signature/Date:



Supervisor Signature/Date:

THE TELECOMMUTING POLICY

The telecommuting policy will provide your organization with clear, consistent guidelines and suggestions for using telecommuting in the individual work group. The policy should be broad enough to allow for individual work groups to customize the guidelines to meet their needs.

It is recommended that the Human Resources department or Personnel department steward the effort of developing the policy. Certainly it can be a group exercise for the telecommuting implementation committee. Human Resources can develop a draft policy and have the members of the implementation committee review the draft copy and submit enhancements or upgrades. That way the policy has strong ownership by all members of the committee and the organization.

Various components for consideration in the telecommuting policy are

• The definition of telecommuting at your organization. How your organization interprets the common telecommuting definition of moving the work to the worker instead of moving the worker to the work.
• The actual policy statement explaining the support for telecommuting from the organization. This can be a very simple one sentence statement. You may also want to include why the organization is serious about implementing the telecommuting program.
• The principles for telecommuting at your organization. This section may include some brief statements regarding needs of the business, basic terms and conditions of employment, telecommuting is voluntary, provisioning of equipment, part-time telecommuting is preferred, who can participate in the program, the need for a designated work space, the telecommuting agreement, tax implications, dependent care, and how to determine when the employee can telecommute.
• A section on the benefits and issues of telecommuting is important for your employees to understand why the organization has considered telecommuting.
• The selection considerations for telecommuting candidates. This may include the job characteristics, the telecommuter characteristics, and the supervisor characteristics which will be considered for telecommuting at your organization.
• A section detailing the equipment responsibilities helps everyone understand what equipment will be provisioned, how to obtain it, and what happens if it breaks. It may be appropriate to include other company policies regarding proprietary information and security.
• The process your organization will use to measure performance and evaluate the on-going success of the telecommuting program. The guidelines you establish for managing by objectives or results would be appropriately included as a refresher for potential telecommuters and supervisors.
• Time keeping or posting time cards needs to be addressed. The organization's existing policy may be included as a reminder of how you currently manage this process. Specific language regarding overtime treatment should also be included in the section.
• Safety should be a component of the policy. It may be included with a brief statement on ergonomics.

The policy should be the official telecommuting document for your organization. It may be included in a telecommuting handbook, which would help to explain how one begins telecommuting at your organization. It is very helpful to have senior management buy into the policy with a public sign off.

MANAGEMENT TELECOMMUTING POLICY
The following summarizes Pacific Bell's telecommuting policy for managers:

Definition of Management Telecommuting at Pacific Bell:

Employees "telecommute" when, on a periodic basis, during their scheduled work hours, they fulfill their job responsibilities at a site other than their primary business location by substituting telecommunications for work-related travel.

Policy Statement on Management Telecommuting:

Pacific Bell considers telecommuting to be a viable management work option that, when appropriately applied, benefits the company and the individual.

Management Telecommuting Principles and Groundrules:

Telecommuting Principles
(Assumptions which govern telecommuting at Pacific Bell)

• Telecommuting is a cooperative arrangement between supervisor and management employee, not an entitlement, and is based on:
  
  • the needs of the job, work group, and company
  • the employee's past and present levels of performance.

Jobs suitable for telecommuting are characterized by clearly defined tasks and deliverables. A telecommuter's performance is measured by results, not work location. (See Selections Consideration contained in Policy.)

Telecommuting is a management tool allowing for flexibility in work options for managers.

Telecommuting does not change the basic terms and conditions of employment as a manager of Pacific Bell.

Each telecommuting arrangement will be cost-justified, subject to benefit tracking and reviewed for continued mutual benefit at regular intervals.

Each telecommuting arrangement is jointly agreed between supervisor and employee. Telecommuting is voluntary and may be terminated at any time, at will, by either the company or the employee.

Company-provided equipment at home is not an entitlement of telecommuting; depending on the job, equipment needs for telecommuters will vary from as little as phone, paper, and pencil, to as much as computer modem, data line, printer and fax machine.

Telecommuting occurs usually on a part-time basis. Full-time telecommuting is permissible only when necessary and justified (e.g., telecommuting may be used to accommodate medical restrictions or physical disabilities depending on the needs of the job and business).

The telecommuting work option is available to management employees only; the possible applicability of telecommuting to non-salaried jobs in the future would be a subject of union negotiations.

Telecommuters' salary, job responsibilities, benefits, and Pacific Bell-sponsored insurance coverage do not change as a result of telecommuting.

Telecommuters will have regularly scheduled work hours agreed upon with their supervisors.

Telecommuters will be as accessible as their on-site counterparts during their agreed upon regular business hours, regardless of work location.

Telecommuters who work at home will have a designated work space agreed to by the company and maintained by the employee, and subject to supervisor visits to the designated work area, upon request, to ensure that safe work conditions exist. The telecommuter will be responsible for absorbing any costs related to remodeling the initial set-up (e.g., furniture) of the designated work space.

Telecommuters who work at home will take all precautions necessary to secure proprietary information in their home and prevent unauthorized access to any company system from their home.

Telecommuters may, at company discretion, be provided with telecommuting equipment (e.g., computer modem, printer, telephone access line) as agreed between supervisor/department and employee, which will remain the property of Pacific Bell.

Tax implications related to the telecommuter's home work space are the responsibility of the employee.

Telecommuter expenses not specifically covered in this policy will be dealt with on a case-by-case basis between employee and supervisor.

Telecommuters who work at home will manage dependent care and personal responsibilities in a way that allows them to successfully meet job responsibilities.

Telecommuters and their supervisors will jointly sign a Telecommuting Agreement that can be terminated at any time by either the Company or the employee. (Sample Telecommuting Agreement form provided in Policy Appendix.)

Posted August 22, 1997