Remote Work Policy Template: What Every Employer Needs to Include

Most remote work policies read like a culture document — expectations about availability, communication norms, a paragraph about trust. Those things belong in the policy. They are also not what creates risk.

The risk lives in the parts most policies omit: which state an employee is actually working from, who pays for their internet, how a non-exempt employee's hours get recorded when nobody sees them start, and what happens when someone decides to spend three months working from another country.

Here is what the policy needs to cover, section by section, with the compliance reason for each.

1. Scope and Eligibility

State clearly:

• Which roles are eligible, and on what basis — role requirements, not individual preference
• Whether the arrangement is fully remote, hybrid, or occasional
• Any tenure or performance conditions
• The approval process and who approves
• That remote work is a business arrangement, not an entitlement or a benefit

Apply eligibility criteria consistently. Remote work eligibility that correlates with a protected characteristic — allowed for one group and denied to comparable employees in another — is a discrimination claim built into policy design.

Note also that remote work may be a reasonable accommodation under the ADA in a specific case even where general policy does not permit it. The policy should say that accommodation requests are evaluated separately through the interactive process, not decided by the remote work policy.

2. Work Location — the Section That Matters Most

This is the highest-value section and the one most policies handle in a sentence.

The policy must require:

• The employee's designated work location, recorded as a data field, separate from home address
• Advance written approval for any change in work location, including temporary relocations
• Immediate notification of any move, including a move within a state — because local taxes and ordinances vary by municipality
• An explicit statement that working from a location other than the approved one is a policy violation

Why it matters: an employee's physical work location determines income tax withholding, unemployment insurance sourcing, workers' compensation coverage, paid leave entitlements, minimum wage and overtime rules, required notices and postings, and — in several states — corporate tax nexus for the entire company.

A single employee moving states without notice creates retroactive obligations in the new state, over-withholding in the old one, and potentially a workers' compensation policy that does not cover them. See our Multi-State Taxation and HR Training by State resources.

Note the convenience-of-the-employer complication. A small number of states treat wages as sourced to the employer's state when an employee works remotely for their own convenience rather than the employer's necessity — potentially exposing the employee to tax in both states. Where you are headquartered in such a state, the policy should address whether remote arrangements are permitted for employer necessity, and document that necessity. [VERIFY which states apply this rule.]

3. Hours, Availability, and Timekeeping

For non-exempt employees this is a wage-hour exposure, not an administrative detail.

The policy must require:

• Recording all time worked, including time worked outside scheduled hours
• Taking meal and rest breaks as required by the applicable state, and recording them where required
• Obtaining advance approval for overtime — while stating plainly that unapproved overtime will still be paid, with discipline reserved for the policy violation
• Prohibiting off-the-clock work, including checking email and responding to messages outside recorded time

That last item is the live risk. Remote non-exempt employees answer messages in the evening because the device is right there. Every one of those minutes is compensable, and a class of remote non-exempt employees with unrecorded after-hours communication is a straightforward collective action. Train managers not to message non-exempt employees outside working hours, and mean it. See our FLSA Training.

For all employees, define core availability windows, response time expectations, meeting attendance requirements, and how time off and unavailability are communicated.

4. Expense Reimbursement

Several states require employers to reimburse necessary business expenses, and remote work generates them: internet service, a portion of a personal phone bill, office supplies, and in some interpretations a share of utilities.

Where reimbursement is required, a policy that is silent does not eliminate the obligation — it just means the claim arrives later and covers a longer period.

The policy should specify:

• What is reimbursable and what is not
• Whether reimbursement is by actual expense with documentation or by a monthly stipend
• The submission process and deadline
• That an accountable plan is used, so reimbursements are not taxable wages

A stipend is administratively simpler and generally acceptable where it reasonably covers actual necessary expenses — but it must be genuinely adequate, and in states with strict requirements a stipend materially below actual costs may not satisfy the obligation. [VERIFY which states require reimbursement and the scope of each.] See our Employee Business Expense Reimbursements guide.

5. Equipment, Security, and Data Privacy

• What equipment the employer provides and what the employee supplies
• Ownership, maintenance, and return on separation — with a clear process, because recovering equipment from a departed remote employee is genuinely difficult
• Security requirements: device encryption, VPN use, secured home networks, screen locking, physical security of documents
• Prohibition on using personal accounts and unapproved applications for work
• Rules for handling confidential and personal data at home, including printing and disposal
• Whether personal devices may be used, and if so under what mobile device management conditions
• A clear statement about monitoring — what is monitored, and that there is no expectation of privacy in employer systems. Several states require specific notice before electronic monitoring

6. Workspace and Safety

State that the employee is responsible for maintaining a safe workspace, and specify basic requirements.

Two facts employers frequently get wrong:

• Workers' compensation covers injuries at home that arise out of and in the course of employment. A remote employee injured while performing work duties at home generally has a compensable claim. This is not eliminated by a policy disclaimer.
• OSHA recordkeeping applies to home-based work injuries that are work-related, even though OSHA does not conduct inspections of home offices for office-type work. The policy should require prompt reporting of any work-related injury, in the same manner as an on-site injury.

Some employers require a self-certified workspace checklist. This is reasonable and cheap, and it establishes that safety expectations were communicated.

7. Notices, Postings, and Training

Remote employees are entitled to the same required notices and postings as on-site employees, and a break room poster reaches none of them.

The policy — and your practice — should provide for electronic distribution or a designated intranet location for all required federal and state postings, with employees directed to it. [VERIFY state-specific requirements for electronic posting.]

The same applies to mandatory training. Several states require harassment prevention training with specific frequency and content requirements, and remote employees are fully covered.

8. International Remote Work

Handle this explicitly, because the default answer should be no.

An employee working from another country — even temporarily — can create:

• Permanent establishment risk, exposing the company to corporate tax in that country
• Payroll and social insurance registration obligations in the host country
• Employment law application, often including protections far exceeding US standards, and in many countries the employee acquires local statutory rights quickly
• Immigration violations — working on a tourist visa is unlawful in most countries
• Data transfer restrictions under GDPR and similar regimes
• Export control and sanctions exposure depending on the country and the work

The policy should state that international remote work — including "working from abroad while visiting family" — requires advance written approval through a defined process involving tax, legal, and HR. Employees will not anticipate any of this, and the request often arrives as a courtesy notification two weeks before departure.

9. Performance and Communication

• Performance expectations are the same as for on-site employees; measurement is by output
• Required meetings and any on-site attendance expectations
• Communication norms — channels, response times, availability signaling
• Manager check-in cadence

Train managers separately. Remote team management requires deliberate practice, and unmanaged remote employees are the ones who disengage and depart. See our Manager & Supervisor Training.

10. Modification and Revocation

State clearly that the arrangement:

• May be modified or revoked at the employer's discretion, with reasonable notice
• Does not alter at-will employment status
• Does not change compensation, benefits, or employment terms unless separately stated

Where you may adjust compensation based on geography, state that explicitly and in advance. Adjusting pay after a relocation the employee already made, without prior notice of the policy, is a predictable dispute.

The Common Omissions

Frequently Asked Questions

Do we have to reimburse remote employees for internet and phone?

In several states, yes — necessary business expenses must be reimbursed, and remote work generates them. A silent policy does not remove the obligation. Verify the requirement in each state where you have remote employees.

Which state's employment laws apply to a remote employee?

Generally the state where the employee physically performs the work, for wage and hour, leave, notices, and unemployment insurance. Income tax sourcing can differ where a convenience-of-the-employer rule applies.

Does workers' compensation cover injuries at home?

Yes, where the injury arises out of and in the course of employment. Work-related home injuries are also subject to OSHA recordkeeping, even though OSHA does not inspect home offices for office-type work.

Can we require remote employees to return to the office?

Yes, if the policy reserves the right to modify or revoke the arrangement. Give reasonable notice, apply the decision consistently, and evaluate any accommodation requests separately through the interactive process.

Can employees work from another country temporarily?

Only with advance approval through a defined review. International remote work can create permanent establishment, payroll registration, local employment law, immigration, and data transfer exposure — even for short periods.

How do we handle required workplace postings for remote employees?

Distribute electronically or maintain a designated intranet location and direct employees to it. Physical postings in a workplace the employee never enters satisfy nothing.

The Bottom Line

Treat work location as a controlled data field with an approval process — it drives tax, insurance, leave, wage-hour, and notice obligations, and it is the single highest-value control in the policy. Then close the three most common gaps: off-the-clock work by non-exempt employees, expense reimbursement in states that require it, and international remote work approved by nobody.

For structured instruction, explore our Employee Handbook training and HR Policies and Personnel Forms, or review HR Training by State.