The Americans with Disabilities Act requires a reasonable accommodation for those with disabilities. Employee Relations will continue to work with faculty and staff on all ADA accommodation requests. The university does not tolerate discrimination. If an employee believes they have been discriminated against, they may contact the Office of Civil Rights and Title IX for assistance in filing a report.  Leaders understand that they must adjust and work with employees who need various accommodations.  The return-to-campus guidelines do not change this process.    

The university does not tolerate discrimination. If an employee believes they have been discriminated against, they may contact the Office of Civil Rights and Title IX for assistance in filing a report. 

Yes. An employee must have worked for USC for at least a year before eligible to telecommute.

No. The one-year requirement starts when hired at USC.

Yes. Any disciplinary action within the last year may impact eligibility.  This includes, but is not limited to, oral warnings and written reprimands.

The policy does not apply to faculty.

Temporary or emergency telecommuting may be used during short-term illness or other similar unplanned emergent events. This level of telecommuting does not require a formal agreement or checklist process. These arrangements require a verbal agreement between the employee and the agency and will be reported as a deviation.

This would be treated the same as: 'Periodic, intermittent telecommuting arrangements may arise, for example, where an employee is assigned a project with a short time frame or one that requires uninterrupted time to complete.' It would need to be reported as a deviation.

An exception request is required to allow a candidate to telecommute outside of the updated rules for a defined period until relocation. This request must be submitted to Employee Relations and approved by State HR and the Governor or the Governor’s designee before the individual can be hired. The candidate may also be required to complete USC’s telecommuting justification and agreement processes.

Spreadsheets are due by noon the following Monday for the preceding week and must be emailed to telecommute@sc.edu.

A new spreadsheet must be created and submitted each week following the template provided.

No report is required in this case. However, you must send an email to telecommute@sc.edu  by noon each Monday indicating “no activity” for the week.

No report is required in this case. However, an email must be sent to telecommute@sc.edu by noon each Monday indicating 'no activity' for the week.

No. Brief, incidental actions such as checking or responding to an email after hours are considered de minimis and do not need to be tracked or reported.

De minimis is considered 45 minutes or less and does not need to be reported.

USC HR will notify the College/Division/Campus once the Governor’s Office provides a decision.

This is only allowed for those individuals who were already on a USC approved telecommuting agreement had an exception request submitted to USC HR by September 28, 2025. If you were not on a USC approved telecommuting agreement or did not submit an exception request for the Governor’s decision by September 28, 2025, then you must be in compliance with the executive order beginning October 1, 2025.

These requests must be approved according to USC guidelines and must also adhere to the Executive Order. Beginning the week of October 6, we will start reviewing justification requests received after September 19. The employee will not be able to telecommute until that approval is granted.

The employee must wait until the request is approved through the USC process. Once HR notifies the College/Division/Campus that the justification was approved, the department may submit an exception to telecommute@sc.edu. It will then be submitted to State HR for review and to the Governor’s Office for a decision. Until that decision is received, telecommuting can only occur within the parameters of the Executive Order.

We hope that when employees are away from work, they can truly be away from work. The lines between work and personal time have blurred, and it’s becoming an unspoken expectation that because we can work from anywhere, we should always be connected. Too often, employees feel pressure to stay online – even when caring for a sick child or when recovering themselves. This constant availability not only affects well-being - it also limits our ability to build depth and resilience across teams. When we rely on the same individuals to always be “on,” we miss critical opportunities to develop others and prepare for both short-term coverage and long-term succession. We want that to change.  
We also encourage employees to take advantage of resources on campus for health and well-being. We have the ability for employees to have flexible schedules in some areas, depending on the needs of the unit.  Building social bonds in the workplace is also necessary for
well-being.  

Colleges/divisions may allow employees to work an alternate work schedule based on the business needs of the unit.  The Flexible Work Schedule Guidelines provide additional information regarding these options, which already exist. 

All USC Columbia employees will reside in the state of South Carolina unless special approval is obtained through completing the telecommuting justification form and submitting an exception.