The Senate on Monday voted unanimously to pass legislation to expand telework opportunities in the federal government.
The bill - the 2010 Telework Enhancement Act - would make federal employees presumptively eligible to telework and would require all agencies to establish telework policies in consultation with the Office of Personnel Management. The legislation also would require agencies to designate a telework managing officer and ensure that telework is part of its continuity of operations planning.
The bill also would allow agencies, with the approval of the General Services Administration, to create travel and expense test programs to accommodate teleworking employees.
"The federal government must acknowledge that the next generation of employees will have different expectations of what it means to go to work," said Sen. George Voinovich, R-Ohio, a sponsor of the bill. "Advancements in technology mean employees will expect to be able to work at any time from any place."
Brittany Ballenstedt
Brittany Ballenstedt writes Nextgov's Wired Workplace blog, which delves into the issues facing employees who work in the federal information technology sector. Before joining Nextgov, Brittany covered federal pay and benefits issues as a staff correspondent for Government Executive and served as an associate editor for National Journal's Technology Daily. She holds a bachelor's degree in journalism from Mansfield University and originally hails from Pennsylvania. She currently lives near Travis Air Force Base, Calif., where her husband is stationed.
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