OPM introduced unscheduled telework in 2010 to bolster continuity during emergencies, and with inclement weather likely in the coming months it’s again looking to expand the telework readiness of the federal workforce as part of its updated dismissal and closure procedures for the Washington, DC area.
When federal offices are closed, OPM’s operating status announcement requires that two types of telework-ready employees will perform work: employees already scheduled to perform telework on the effective day of the announcement and employees required to perform telework according to their written telework agreement when the federal government is closed.
A third category of teleworkers – those who are telework-ready but are neither scheduled to work on the day of an OPM closure announcement or required to work on that day according to their written telework agreements – may be the largest category of telework employees.
OPM has called on agencies to begin incorporating the third group into the second group – that is, requiring more of those telework-ready employees to work from home or elsewhere when offices are closed.
That would require updating telework agreements as necessary. OPM notes that written telework agreements consistent with agency policies and subject to any collective bargaining agreements must be in place before requiring telework for both the first and second groups.
OPM emphasized that participation in the telework program is voluntary, and that agencies may not compel employees to sign telework agreements to avoid providing excused absence to that employee on a day when federal offices are closed.
