The House failed to approve a telework bill under “suspension of the rules” procedures generally used to pass non-controversial legislation and requiring a two-thirds majority to pass.
The bill, HR-1722, received a vote of 268 to 147. It would require agencies to authorize employees to telework as much as possible without harming operations or performance, and permit employees to telework at least 20 percent of the hours worked in every two-week period, and to establish telework managing officers.
It would also instruct OPM to develop a uniform, government-wide telework policy for federal employees and further integrate telework into agency continuity of operations plans.
The bill’s sponsor, John Sarbanes, D-Md., cited 147 Republican’s voting against the bill versus just 24 voting for it, as the reason it did not pass under expedited procedures. The legislation could be voted on again soon under normal House procedures.
