Legislation has been introduced in the U.S. Congress to expand telework opportunities for all federal workers, allowing these employees to perform their duties and responsibilities from home or from another work site removed from their regular place of employment. 

 

Representatives John Sarbanes, Frank Wolf, and Gerald Connolly introduced the Telework Improvements Act of 2009 in the House of Representatives. Senators Daniel K. Akaka and George V. Voinovich introduced the Telework Enhancement Act of 2009.

 

The House legislation would:

 

 

 

 

 

 

“First and foremost, this bill is about good governance,” Sarbanes said. “The federal government should use telework as a powerful recruitment and retention tool to compete with the private sector for the best and brightest workers.”

 

“(Moreover,) traffic gridlock in our region results in lost productivity, less time spent with families, and pollution that poisons our air and alters our climate. If more federal employees telework, not only will we improve their quality of life, we will relieve the overall strain on our transportation infrastructure and improve the daily commute for all area workers.”

 

“Since serving as Chairman of the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments I have championed telework as a low cost, high impact tool to reduce our traffic congestion,” Connolly said. “This bill will reduce the number of daily auto trips among the 2.5 million daily commuters of the national capital region, and provide a critical post 9-11 framework for continuity of operations plans (COOP) in both the public and private sectors.”

 

“As the author of the current telework law, I believe we must do more to ensure that federal agencies are fully complying and implementing telework for all eligible employees,” Wolf said. “The Telework Improvements Act of 2009 will build on this foundation to cut through bureaucratic resistance, reduce traffic, and improve quality of life for our federal workforce.”

 

The Senate bill would require:

 

 

 

 

“Expanding telework options helps the Federal Government attract and retain talented employees,” Akaka said. “With a large portion of the Federal workforce eligible for retirement in the coming years, it is essential for agencies to develop management tools to enhance recruitment and retention. This bill would provide Federal agencies with an important tool to remain competitive in the modern workplace.”

 

“To compete as an employer-of-choice in the today’s fast-paced knowledge economy and improve our competitiveness, we need to create an environment that supports those with the desire and commitment to serve,” Voinovich said. “Just as other aspects of their lives have been transformed by technology, we need to acknowledge that this next generation will have different expectations of what it means to go to work. Our legislation will help executive agencies better integrate telework into their human capital planning, establishing a level playing field for employees who voluntarily elect to telework, and improving program accountability.”

 

The Telework Exchange, a public-private partnership focused on promoting telework, applauded the legislation. It also praised the timing: federal executives will soon converge to discuss the future of government telework at the Telework Exchange Spring Town Hall Meeting on April 8 at the Ronald Reagan Building. This event will focus on how federal agencies are advancing current telework programs, utilizing existing resources to build a telework program, and investing wisely in telework programs.

 

“Telework is a viable option for business operations: it is a critical plank in business continuity, recruitment and retention, employee productivity, and work/life balance,” said Cindy Auten, general manager, Telework Exchange. “(This legislation) is an important step in implementing successful Federal telework programs and we applaud Congress for introducing (these bills).”