Congressmen Draft Legislation to Encourage Telecommuting in Federal Agencies

The Washington Post reports on the efforts of two congressmen.

Concerned that too few federal employees are getting plugged into telecommuting, House Democrats are drafting legislation that would encourage agencies to allow eligible employees to telework four days a month, on average.

Reps. Danny K. Davis (D-Ill.), chairman of the House federal workforce subcommittee, and John Sarbanes (D-Md.) are the chief sponsors of the proposal, which would require every federal agency to establish a telework policy so more employees could choose to work from home or at locations away from their primary office.

The most recent federal data, collected in 2005, showed that about 6.6 percent of federal workers can be considered regular telecommuters. Raising that percentage, proponents say, would cut back Washington’s traffic problems, reduce auto emissions and allow agencies to keep working even when emergencies force main offices to shut down.

Although Congress has urged agencies to promote telework for the past five years, a May survey of 25 federal agencies, conducted by the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, found them to have no consistent definition of telework.

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