The House federal workforce subcommittee has passed the Telework Improvements Act of 2009, which would require executive agencies to establish a policy under which employees may be authorized to telework to the maximum extent possible without diminishing employee performance and agency operations.
The bill, HR-1722, would also require agencies to authorize employees to telework for at least 20 percent of the hours worked in every two-week period, and would require agencies to establish telework managing officers to act as the point person for managers, supervisors and employees.
It requires agencies to provide training to teleworkers and ensure that no distinction between is made between teleworkers and non-teleworkers for the purpose of performance appraisals.
The bill also requires OPM to prescribe telework regulations, provide teleworking assistance and guidance to agencies, maintain a central, publicly available telework website, including regulations regarding telework and a confidential hotline and e-mail address to report abuse, and provide a summary of any such reports to GAO.
