Republicans Aim at Federal Telework, DC Offices in Flurry of Bills
With Republicans in charge of both chambers of Congress, and President-elect Trump assuming the Oval Office next week, a flurry of legislation was introduced aimed at changing the way federal employees work. Much of the legislation is not new and was pending in the prior Congress.
And as in the prior Congress, much of the legislation targets remote work and telework, both of which are frequently criticized by Republicans as hurting an agency’s ability to deliver on its mission.
Telework/Remote Work-Related Legislation
The Return to Work Act (H.R. 107) was reintroduced by Congressman Andy Biggs (R-AZ). The bill would require federal agencies to return to telework policies in effect before the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Federal Employee Return to Work Act (H.R. 236) would exclude federal employees who telework at least once a week, from receiving pay raises and higher locality pay for their office being a higher cost of living area.
And Senator Joni Ernst (R-IA) introduced the Requiring Effective Management and Oversight of Teleworking Employees Act. The bill would require agencies to measure data from a federal employee’s off-site computer, to ensure they are doing their jobs.
Senator Ernst, chair of the Senate Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) Caucus, introduced other legislation too.
The DRAIN THE SWAMP Act would require all non-national security agencies to relocate 30 percent of headquarters staff outside the DC region within a year of the law’s enactment.
The Strategic Withdrawal of Agencies for Meaningful Placement Act would prohibit agencies from undertaking renovations or renewing leasing on DC-area headquarters, and require them to solicit bids from other cities.
Despite the flurry of bills aimed at moving feds out of the DC-area, GovExec points out that 85 percent of the federal workforce already lives and works outside of the region.
Retirement Pay
Another bill could have a major impact on the amount of retirement pay federal retirees receive.
Senator Bill Cassidy’s (R-LA) Federal Employee Locality Accountability in Retirement Act (S. 26) would exclude locality pay when calculating retirement payments for federal employees enrolled in the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS). This would have the net effect of cutting federal retirement annuities because locality pay is included in the high-3 calculation.
Telework Hearing
Meanwhile the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee’s first hearing in the new Congress will focus on telework and will happen on Wednesday, January 15.
The hearing titled, “The Stay-at-Home Federal Workforce: Another Biden-Harris Legacy,” will include testimony from former Social Security Administration Commissioner Martin O’Malley, Economic Policy Innovation Center Visiting Fellow in Workforce Rachel Greszler, and Federal City Council President Tom Davis.
Federal leaders have repeatedly told Congress that they have systems in place to track attendance and productivity of federal employees who work remotely.
