Heather Curtis
WMAL.com
WASHINGTON (WMAL) – Local members of Congress are fighting back against new restrictions on telework at two federal agencies by introducing legislation to expand and encourage working remotely.
The Department of Agriculture started limiting telework in February, and the Department of Education will require employees to work in the office for four days per week starting in October.
In a document of frequently asked questions on telework changes, the DOE wrote “ED has a greater need for physical presence in our offices. Employee presence will enhance collaboration between Program Office Components and strengthen our delivery of customer service internally and externally.”
“We think that’s just an enormous step backward,” Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-VA) told WMAL.
Connolly and John Sarbanes (D-MD) have introduced the Telework Metrics and Cost Savings Act.
The bill tries to prevent backtracking by setting goals to increase telework in the federal government Connolly said. From 2015 to 2016, telework participation increased
from 20 percent to 22 percent of all employees according to the Office of Personnel Management’s 2016 Status of Telework in the Federal Government report to Congress. The legislation would require OPM to maintain or increase telework participation at 22 percent.
The bill also requires agencies be more rigorous in tracking and reporting cost savings from telework so they can prove its benefits Connolly added.
“Federal government telework programs not only improve productivity, but also save taxpayer money by increasing efficiency, strengthening employee retention and reducing costs for federal office space, as numerous studies have demonstrated,” said Sarbanes in a press release.
In addition to those benefits, Connolly said telework also reduces traffic in the D.C. metro area.
“The more we can take cars off the road, the more we can help people have an alternative to commuting, the better off all of us are,” Connolly said.
Connolly is optimistic that the bill will get support from his colleagues around the country because he believes it benefits their constituents as well. He said he spoke to two of his Republican colleagues from rural parts of the west and Midwest, and they understood that telework could create jobs in their regions by allowing people to live there and work for federal agencies with offices in other locations.
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