The House Oversight and Government Reform committee has passed a bill that would require agencies to establish policies under which employees generally may telework at least 20 percent of the hours worked in each two-week pay period.
HR-4106, Telework Improvements Act of 2007, would also require those policies to ensure that the opportunity to telework is made available to the maximum extent possible without diminishing employee performance or agency operations.
The bill requires agency heads to provide training to teleworkers and ensure no distinction is made between teleworkers and non-teleworkers for the purposes of performance appraisals.
It also requires GSA to provide teleworking assistance and guidance to agencies, requires agencies to dedicate a telework managing officer, and sets forth provisions concerning incorporating teleworking into agency continuity of operations planning.
The Senate’s version, S-1000, passed the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee in November.
"It is my hope that Congress approves comprehensive federal telework legislation by the end of the year," said National Treasury Employees Union president, Colleen Kelley.
Kelley warned of "institutional barriers to telework" such as oft-cited managerial resistance and noted that under 7 percent of the federal workforce participates in telework programs.
A recent analysis by a teleconferencing company – Tandberg — of data collected online by the Telework Exchange from 664 employees in 65 departments and agencies found that 37 percent are unaware of agency telework policies, while 42 percent are unaware of their personal eligibility to telework.