Submission of Alternative Worksite Requests Via Firefly

Instructions for College of Engineering (COE) Staff and Supervisors



Effective July 1, 2023, the process outlined below replaces the COE Alternative Worksite Agreement submission review/approval procedure previously in-use by the College of Engineering. Please see Alternative Worksite Arrangements for University of Nebraska Staff Members for additional information and link to the University’s Alternative Worksite Policy HR-03. University and COE policies apply to all administrative, managerial/professional, office/service, and student employees holding regular, temporary, or on-call appointments.

Alternative Worksite Arrangement Form

  • Begin to complete the Alternative Worksite Form in Firefly. Employees should discuss requests for remote work with their supervisor before submitting requests.
  • COE employees may enter a start date of August 1, 20XX or the start date at which they wish to begin working remotely.
  • Requests for alternative worksite arrangements in the COE will be reviewed and approved annually by the Dean per college policy, for the period preferably August 1 through July 31 of the following year.
  • When submitting an Alternative Worksite Arrangement Request in Firefly, you may leave the “Temp End Date” section blank. Employees are asked to discuss alternative worksite arrangements with their supervisor on an annual basis and submit requests preferably on or around August 1 of each year.
    COE employees who begin work in the college after August 1 each year or decide later to make a request for an alternative worksite arrangement may do so.
  • Please note in the explanation section which days of the week will be worked remotely.  COE employees are not to be scheduled to work remotely on Mondays and Fridays.
Once the employee submits the request, the supervisor will receive a notification via email that an Alternative Worksite Arrangement Request has been sent to them. The UNL campus requires the following approvals and the COE approval procedure is as follows:

For employees working less than 50% remote, two levels of approval are required:
  1. Immediate Supervisor as designated in SAP
  2. Dean per COE policy (final approver)

For COE employees working greater than 50% remote, three levels of approval are required:
  1. Immediate Supervisor as designated in SAP
  2. Dean per COE policy
  3. Vice Chancellor for Business and Finance (final campus approval)
Note: Any requests for COE employees working greater than 50% remote requires detailed explanation/justification from the employee and supervisor before delegation to the Dean for review. Requests for remote work in the COE typically are for no more than two days per week.

The supervisor will review the request and process as follows:

Approve and Delegate – This option is to be used (as mentioned above) given additional approval by the Dean is needed to review/approve the request in the COE.  The Dean gives final approval unless the employee works 50% or more remotely in Nebraska OR is currently working in a state other than Nebraska in which case another level of approval by the Vice Chancellor for Business and Finance must give final campus approval.

The COE supervisor will review the request and click on “To Approve & Delegate” in the lower right hand corner of the screen. Next, the supervisor clicks on Approve with Delegation and searches for the delegated approver’s name – Lance C. Pérez.

It’s recommended supervisors search for the Dean’s name by entering “Lance” in the search field and clicking on the magnifying glass icon. Lance C. Pérez should appear in the drop down list and be selected. After Lance C. Pérez is selected, the supervisor enters comments if needed or “approved” (this field cannot be left blank) and clicks on Submit.

Employees should receive an email message notifying them their Alternative Worksite Arrangement Request has been approved or rejected. Those receiving approval messages are asked to forward to COE HR Specialist-Lead Cathy Norquest at cathy.norquest@unl.edu. This will allow COE HR to maintain a current record of employees who have approved requests.

COE employees with approved Alternative Worksite Arrangements are encouraged to note their remote work days of the week in their email signature and out-of-office voice mail message, and to place a sign on their office door or in their work area indicating their remote work days.

If employees wish to end their alternative worksite arrangement, they or their supervisors are encouraged to notify COE HR accordingly.

In the event employees change positions in the college or are assigned a new supervisor in the COE, they should communicate with their new supervisor regarding their previously-approved alternative worksite arrangement.

Reject – If the supervisor rejects the request, it will be removed from workflow.