As pressure mounts for some federal agency employees to return to their offices after months of adjusting to pandemic-prompted stay-home orders, three senators put forth bipartisan legislation to permit full-time telework for public-sector personnel throughout the COVID-19 public health emergency.
The Pandemic Federal Telework Act, introduced Monday by Sens. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., James Lankford, R-Okla., and Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz., seeks to set a default for maximum telework for agency employees until the pandemic ceases to persist (with some flexibility around work that can’t be completed remotely), enable use of the Technology Modernization Fund for tech-driven efforts to facilitate telework—and more.
In a statement Monday, Van Hollen called maximizing telework “a no brainer” that offers “the best way to keep workers safe so they can continue providing vital services to the American people during this difficult time.”
The senator also confirmed intentions to push this provision forward in the government’s next relief package.
Specifically, the legislation would direct federal agencies to allow all employees who are eligible for telework to do so full-time until the government terminates the declared public health emergency spurred by COVID-19. Under the bill, agencies would also be required to assess whether certain personnel not permitted to telework can pivot to telework-eligible. When necessary, “compelling” reasons are presented, agency heads would be permitted to waive those requirements.
Also included in the legislation is a requirement for the Office of Personnel Management Director and Health and Human Services Department ..
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