Baltimore County recently introduced a new telecommuting policy for county employees.  The policy will allow some employees to work form home up to half the time and is aimed reducing the environmental impact of daily commuting, while increasing employee productivity and satisfaction.

The County is making this opportunity available to employees of all County government agencies, through an application process, subject to management approval. Beginning in January, non-probationary employees may submit a request to participate in the telework program. Rather than specifying parameters or guidelines for which jobs are appropriate, the process will consider all applications on a case-by-case basis. The policy applies to all non-probationary employees; however the County specifies that not all jobs or employees are adaptable to remote work.

Employees who are approved to participate will be permitted to work remotely for up to five days of each two-week pay period. Participating employees must have adequate technology at home to support teleworking, including Internet connectivity and telephone access.

Baltimore County Executive Kevin Kamenetz described how he hopes the policy will help attract employees to the public sector, and keep them there. “Especially in competitive fields like information technology, the opportunity to work from home can be a valuable job benefit that helps attract and retain talented employees,” he said.