New bipartisan legislation has been put forward in the Senate that would allow federal government employees to telework full time for the duration of the pandemic. Two democrats and a republican introduced the Pandemic Federal Telework Act last week, which would also allow money from the Technology Modernization Fund to better enable telework for public sector employees.
The bill will allow all employees that are eligible to telework do so full-time and would also bring an assessment of those employees not currently approved for telework, evaluating whether or not there are compelling reasons to allow them to work from home like their peers.
One of the senators, Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), said that they plan on including this as a part of the next relief package. Since the legislation was introduced though, the Senate has gone to a recess without any further movement on a relief bill. Unless one side moves toward a compromise, this means that there won’t be any discussions of a new relief bill until September.
While the bill is certainly reactionary, it attempts to be forward looking as well. Within a year of its passing, Health and Human Services and the Office of Personnel Management would need to come up with a plan that would maximize telework. This wouldn’t be something that is necessarily used when no public health crisis is present, but would prepare the government for future scenarios in which office work is untenable. The bill will also require that new managers and supervisors receive comprehensive telework training within 180 days of taking on such a role. This is intended to get them up to speed on issues like cybersecurity and employee engagement.
This is the second bill that the trio has introduced regarding telework, as the first, the Emergency Telework Act, never gained traction. Government agencies instead needed to take work from home statuses into their own hands, with each agency enacting different guidance. As agencies began to bring their employees back to the office and COVID cases increased across the country, the senators moved to introduce this new bill. The bill has support from a variety of government employee groups.
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About the Author: Chris Mack
Chris is a Marketing Manager at Extract with experience in product development, data analysis, and both traditional and digital marketing. Chris received his bachelor’s degree in English from Bucknell University and has an MBA from the University of Notre Dame. A passionate marketer, Chris strives to make complex ideas more accessible to those around him in a compelling way.