Duke is supportive of remote work arrangements but also recognizes the need for a physical presence to support the community members on campus. Duke does not permit Remote Work for non-exempt employees outside of North Carolina due to the challenges and cost of administering complex employment and overtime regulations.  In addition, Duke does not permit Remote Work for any employees outside the United States. 

Duke Units may approve Remote Work for exempt employees within North Carolina and in the following Approved States:

All requests for remote work must be approved in advance by the supervisor and school/division/entity HR leader. Employees working outside of North Carolina are subject to state laws, filings, and income tax regulations based on their work location. They must also adhere to all Duke policies, except where a law or regulation applicable to the employee’s remote work location requires otherwise.

At this time, working outside of North Carolina is not allowed for non-exempt staff due to the complexities of various overtime regulations in different states. However, multi-state employment for non-exempt staff will be addressed in a future phase of this effort. Currently, all non-exempt staff are required to work in North Carolina. For nonexempt staff where the department and staff member desires to have work performed outside of North Carolina and not be employed by Duke, the school/division/entity HR team may work with Duke HR recruitment to contact Duke’s third-party staffing agencies for more information. The same pathway may be an option, with school/division/entity HR team support, for exempt staff who desire to work remotely in a location not included in the locations listed above.

If an exempt staff member is an essential team member and can perform work remotely from one of the approved states without disruption to the operation of a department, the manager may submit a request to school/department leadership and school/department human resources representative. If approved, the staff member and manager should complete the Remote Work Agreement form, and staff member’s new primary working address must be forwarded to the school/department Payroll and/or HR representative to update appropriate personnel records.

Before approving an exempt staff member to work remotely from one of the approved states/districts, the manager should consider the following:

  • Implement a trial period of 3 – 6 months to ensure remote work is effective and sustainable long term.
  • Will employee ever need to visit the school/department North Carolina location and, if so, what is the frequency? Will all or part of travel cost be reimbursed?
  • What equipment will be provided to staff member (laptop, cell phone, etc.)?
  • Schedule regular virtual check-ins (frequency TBD by manager and staff member)
  • Establish expectations for online presence/availability during work schedule (Teams, Zoom, Jabber, etc.)
  • Contact your payroll representative to complete the required tax withholding and change of address forms

If you have an exempt staff member moving internationally or to a state not listed on the approved states/districts, please contact your school/division/entity HR leader before having any serious discussions with the staff member regarding remote work possibilities. Such requests are unlikely to be approved, but in extraordinary circumstances exceptions may be granted by Duke University executive leadership after a thorough legal and compliance review.