Hiring a Remote Employee
Who is a Remote Employee? Accordion Closed
A remote employee is an employee who will never visit the NAU campus or Extended Campuses to perform their duties; however, they will be working at a remote location or online outside the State of Arizona, within the United States. Therefore, they are not able to physically present their original employment identity and authorization documents necessary to complete their Form I-9 to an NAU representative.
Advanced approvals before hiring:
Due to the complexity of compliance and additional costs associated with out of state work, generally employees must live and work from the state of Arizona. Special advanced approvals are required for an NAU to be hired or allowed to work from another state other than Arizona. Employees cannot work from another state for their own convenience, though certain business-justified or mission critical situations may be allowed with advance approval. See Departmental Procedures for Out-of-State Employees.
Who is NOT a Remote Employee? Accordion Closed
There are two other populations of employees who may be mistakenly identified as remote employees.
Not a remote employee:
- The employee who will be working in the State of Arizona at a remote location or online. This employee may visit a NAU location to present their employment identifications. If the employee is not able to physically visit a NAU location to present their employment documentation or if the NAU location does not have secured technical capabilities to process the employee’s I-9, then the employee or NAU representative may contact the HR office for assistance.
- The employee who will be working in the State of Arizona at the NAU campus or Extended Campuses. This employee is not eligible to complete the remote hiring packet or the remote Form I-9; instead, the employee can wait to present their employment documentation to the department or HR within three business days of their start date.
Out of State
Pre-Approvals Required
Northern Arizona University is obligated to follow state specific laws for its employees working from a state other than Arizona. Currently NAU requires pre-approvals prior to making an offer of employment to an individual who will be living outside the State of Arizona. For more information on the pre-approvals and associated costs with hiring a remote employee, please visit the Departmental Procedures for Out-of-State Employees webpage.
Onboarding Resources for out-of-state employment
Please work directly with your NAU HR Services team member for assistance in creating the offer letter and for specific onboarding processes and procedures.
Hybrid/Remote Work
All out of state employees should complete an Flexible Work Schedules and Hybrid/Remote work form once hired, unless they are working in an NAU owned facility.
In State
Department Head/Supervisor Approvals needed
Northern Arizona University is pleased to offer Flexible and Hybrid/Remote work options for employees in roles that can accommodate these remote work options. For information related to the New NAU Workplace please visit our Flexible Work Schedules and Hybrid/Remote work webpage for obtaining the appropriate approvals
Onboarding Resources for remote in-state employment
Please work directly with your NAU HR Services team member for assistance in creating the offer letter and for specific onboarding processes and procedures.
Out of State I-9 Completion
NAU offers I-9 Anywhere services for employees working out-of-state. An electronic New Hire Packet is created and the employee will be prompted to schedule an appointment to complete their I-9 in their local area.
Please make sure your Onboarding request indicates this is an out-of-state hire and the HR Team will ensure the correct packet is created.