OPM has issued a revised fact sheet regarding what is an employee’s official work station, an issue of importance both to the individual—because it sometimes makes the difference on benefit issues such as what general schedule locality rate the worker will receive—as well as to management, which must deal with reporting requirements and other related issues. The fact sheet includes this guidance:
The official worksite for an employee covered by a telework agreement is the location of the regular worksite for the employee’s position (i.e., the place where the employee would normally work absent a telework agreement), as long as the employee is scheduled to report physically at least once a week on a regular and recurring basis to that regular worksite.
In the case of a telework employee whose work location varies on a daily basis, the employee need not report at least once a week to the regular worksite established by the agency as long as the employee is performing work within the same geographic area (established for the purpose of a given pay entitlement) as the employee’s regular worksite. For example, if a telework employee with a varying work location works at least once a week on a regular and recurring basis in the same locality pay area in which the established official worksite is located, the employee need not report at least once a week to that official worksite to maintain entitlement to the locality payment for that area.
The official worksite for an employee covered by a telework agreement who is not scheduled to report at least once a week on a regular and recurring basis to the regular worksite is the location of the telework site (i.e., home, telework center, or other alternative worksite), except in certain temporary situations.
