The White House’s Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has called on Federal agencies to increase in-office work to at least 50 percent of employees’ hours, yet House Republicans say they’re still not receiving enough data regarding Federal telework policies.
Despite sending multiple letters to Federal agencies and a letter to OMB Director Shalanda Young requesting Federal telework rates, members of the House Oversight and Accountability Committee said on April 30 that they are still unsatisfied with the lack of quantitative data from agencies and OMB.
“We don’t believe the Federal government is any more efficient or productive with its new wide-open telework policy,” committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., said during a hearing on Tuesday. “We don’t even know what the telework policy is, we just know that there’s a significantly higher percentage of the Federal workforce that’s working from home as opposed to working in the office.”
While telework served as an important tool during the COVID-19 pandemic, OMB issued guidance to agencies in April 2023 to substantially increase the amount of in-person work. That guidance instructed agencies to develop updated “work environment plans” based on post-pandemic reentry plans.
OMB Deputy Director Jason Miller told members of the committee on Tuesday that Federal agencies are moving towards a posture where telework-eligible teams come into the office “at least half of their hours,” and added that “OMB will continue to push agencies to complete implementation.”
Miller said OMB landed on the 50 percent target “because it’s consistent with where the private sector is [and] we think given where the market is, that’s the right answer.” He noted that for those agencies that wish to exceed 50 percent, OMB gives them that flexibility.
Notably, about half of the Federal workforce has to be in person at a worksite to perform their responsibilities. However, for Federal office workers, Miller said OMB is sticking to the 50 percent target.
“The rationale for our approach to substantially increasing in-person work was because we believed an amount of in-person work is critical for healthy teams,” Miller said. “In crafting our governmentwide guidance, we have followed very closely the research and actions by the private sector.”
“Ultimately, we need to compete for talent. Right now, we have a major effort underway in trying to implement AI and strengthen our use of AI in the Federal government. That’s going to require competing with the private sector for talent,” he added. “In crafting our approach, we want to give flexibility to agencies based upon their diverse mission needs. But absolutely, we need to compete and right now the research suggests that where we’re landing is the right answer. But of course, we’re going to be dynamic going forward.”
Miller also pledged that OMB will provide more granular telework data to Congress. OMB, he said, is “currently in the process of collecting updated information from agencies to develop a report for the Appropriations Committee” – as directed by fiscal year 2024 appropriations legislation.
“Now, if you can prove to us through data that it’s more efficient, then we’ll accept that,” Chairman Comer responded. “No one says we’re totally opposed to telework. We just want to see data that shows it’s more efficient, and I don’t think you all have that data.”
