Definitions – Flexible Work

Alternate Work Location — An approved work site that can include the employee’s home, another Mason campus, or approved alternate site where official business is performed.

Alternate Work Schedule – An acceptable schedule, agreed to by supervisor and employee, that enables completion of the traditional forty (40) hours per week in fewer or more than five (5) full workdays. Flexible work schedules (e.g. compressed schedule or flex time) are example of an alternate work schedule. Alternate schedules can also include positions where the traditional work day is something other than 8:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m., Monday-Friday. If an alternate schedule is a condition of hire (e.g. facilities, student centers, housing and residence life, and police), no flexible work agreement is needed unless the employee is working something other than their standard work schedule (e.g. someone whose schedule is normally 6:00 a.m. – 2:30 p.m. who is approved to work 8:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. would complete a flexible work agreement).

Central Work Site — Location where an employee would normally report to work.

Compressed Work Schedule — A compressed work schedule enables an employee to complete the traditional forty (40) hours per week in fewer than five (5) full work days. It does not always mean four 10-hour days. See the Compressed Work Schedule page.

Department of Human Resource Management (DHRM) Work Mode Categories – DHRM has developed work mode categories for telework. Below is a crosswalk for Mason flexible work categories.

DHRM	Mason
Full Time Teleworker	Remote Worker
Hybrid Telework	Teleworker
Limited Teleworker	Less than 32 hours per month teleworking or an emergency/intermittent teleworker

Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) – A federal law that governs unpaid family and medical leave for eligible workers. It is the policy of George Mason University to allow eligible employees to substitute paid leave for unpaid leave for a period of up to 12 weeks in a calendar year. See University Policy Number 2215: Family Medical Leave for additional information.

Flexible Work Agreement – The written agreement between the supervisor and the employee that details the terms and conditions of an employee’s use of a flexible work arrangement, other than telework or remote work. See a copy of the Flexible Work Agreement form under Work Agreements on the Forms page.

Flexible Work Coordinator — Some schools or units manage their Flexible Work arrangements centrally. In these cases, flexible work coordinators provide assistance on the unit’s procedures for handling Flexible Work options. See the list of Flexible Work Coordinators.

Flextime — An arrangement where an employee works any approved schedule that doesn’t adhere to the traditional Monday through Friday work week and/or the 8:30 a.m. – 5 p.m. work day. It may include varying the time of day, the days of the week, or both. For more information about flextime, please visit the Flexible Work Options: Flextime page.

I-9 Form — The I-9 form is used for verifying eligibility to work in the United States. New employees will need to complete Section 1 of the I-9 form on or before the first day of employment and provide proof of identity and employment eligibility. If you are hired directly into remote work, please see the remote work page for information on how to process your I-9.

Job Sharing — An arrangement whereby two (2) staff members share the responsibilities of one full-time position. Each person shares a specific portion of the position, and both are considered part-time employees. See the Flexible Work Options: Job Sharing page for more information.

Mason NetID — Your NetID is the portion of your Mason e-mail address in front of the @ symbol. For example, the Mason NetID for jdoe@gmu.edu is jdoe. For more information, see the Mason Username page.

Overtime – For purposes of flexible work agreements, hours in excess of the approved alternate work schedule. Note: Only non-exempt employees are eligible to earn overtime pay but all overtime must be approved by the employee’s supervisor in advance of working it.

Patriot Pass Credentials — Patriot Pass is your online credential that allows you to access a variety of Mason online systems. Your NetID (also called your username) along with a password that you create make up your Patriot Pass Credentials. For more information, visit the Mason Username page.

pcAnywhere — Software that enables remote desktop and remote access on a device. It requires purchase of a license from Symantec. For more information, visit the Norton Symantec pcAnywhere software page. For more information on remote desktop, see Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP).

Regular Work Schedule/On Call Evenings and Weekends – An arrangement whereby an employee works a regular forty (40) hour schedule but is on call evenings and/or weekends.

Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) — Allows Microsoft Operating Systems to communicate with a Windows-base terminal server across the network. An RDP file is a standard, formatted file for Windows Remote Desktop Client. This file automatically connects you to your remote resource. RDP are available for Linux and Mac.

Mac: http://www.microsoft.com/mac/remote-desktop-client

Linux: http://rdestop.org/

See pcAnywhere for information about Windows RDP.

Remote Work — An arrangement where an employee spends most, or all, of their working hours outside the traditional place of work. Visits to the campus are infrequent but can be regularly scheduled, the location is sufficiently far away that daily commuting is not possible, or the position is designed specifically for off-site work. For more information on remote work, see the Flexible Work Options: Remote Work page.

Summer Flex – The period from the third Sunday in May through the third Saturday in August.

Telecom Coordinator — The Telecom Coordinator is your department’s central contact for all telecommunication needs including assistance with ordering and installing technology tools associated with Flexible Work. See a list of Telecom Coordinators.

Telework — Allows an employee who spends most of their work hours at a university site to conduct work at an approved alternate site for an agreed upon period of time.

Telework, Emergency/Intermittent – Telework planned on an irregular schedule or in response to contingency operations related to an emergency or unforeseen incident.

Telework/Remote Work Agreement – The written agreement between supervisor and the employee that details the terms and conditions of an employee’s work away from the traditional Mason workplace. To see a copy of the Telework/Remote Work Agreement on the Forms page under Work Agreements.

Unified Communications – Unified messaging is an enhancement to the existing voice mail, allowing the user to receive voice mail at their desktop computer via e-mail with .wav attachments of the message. Users will know who has left a message if the call comes from an on-campus extension without having to check the actual voice mail message. Instructions for set up and use are provided when the service is established. The FindMe/FollowMe feature can also be obtained for a monthly fee.

Work Schedule – The employee’s hours of work in the traditional university office or in an alternate work location.

Virtual Private Network (VPN) — Allows secure remote access to Mason’s resources and your office computer, so that you can perform work as if you were in your office on campus. VPN is the recommended method of access. Additional information is available from the VPN FAQ web page.