A House Committee has stepped up the pressure on federal agencies to provide information it requested previously about elevated levels of telework granted to federal employees despite the COVID pandemic being over and the impact on agency performance.
House Committee on Oversight and Accountability members James Comer (R-KY), Lauren Boebert (R-CO), and Pete Sessions (R-TX) sent letters to 23 of the original 25 federal agencies with their requests for information regarding telework and remote work policies.
In the latest letters, the lawmakers wrote, “To date, we have not received information responsive to our request, raising concerns that your agency is intentionally withholding this information from Congress or is not tracking it as required by law.”
The original batch of letters sent in May requested information about the amount of telework being utilized by federal employees and the effects of increased levels of telework on agency performance and service to the American public. The original letters stated:
The Biden Administration has allowed agencies to continue levels of telework and remote work that are significantly higher than before the pandemic. The Administration, however, has not provided current data about the specific amount of telework occurring within federal agencies or across the entire federal workforce. Furthermore, it has provided no objective evidence concerning the impact of elevated telework on agency performance – including any deleterious impacts. We therefore seek information on the level of telework in your agency, how you have tracked its impact on performance, and what that impact has been.
Because many of the agencies have not yet responded, the letter states:
The purpose of our oversight is to ensure that in the shift to widespread telework and remote work that agencies are able to hold employees accountable and accomplish their missions. In the absence of relevant information, we are left to make assumptions and draw conclusions.
If your agency does not comply fully with the Committee’s May 18, 2023, request no later than August 18, 2023, we will be forced to consider compulsory processes to obtain the information necessary to perform appropriate oversight over the Biden Administration’s telework and remote work policies.
In a statement about the situation, the lawmakers said:
One of two options is currently playing out: either federal agencies are withholding information from Congress or federal agencies are not tracking telework and remote work policies as required by the law. Both possibilities are deeply concerning. The American people show up to work every day and federal agencies should follow their example. Committee Republicans remain steadfast in our pursuit of answers and if federal agencies continue to withhold this information, we will resort to compulsory measures.
Among the concern expressed in the letters is that agencies are not fully utilizing office space for which the taxpayers are paying because of the increased levels of telework within the federal workforce.
A Government Accountability Office (GAO) report published in July found in a sampling of 24 federal agencies in a three-week period across January, February, and March of 2023 that 17 agencies used an estimated average of 25% or less of their headquarters buildings’ capacity. On the higher end, there still was only 39-49% of the capacity used on average.
The text of one of the letters is included for reference below.
Is the Telework Tide Starting to Shift?
The Biden administration has said in the past that it wants agencies to start cutting back on telework now that the pandemic has officially ended. As far back as 2022, President Biden said in his State of the Union address, “It’s time for Americans to get back to work and fill our great downtowns again. People working from home can feel safe to begin to return to the office. We’re doing that here in the federal government. The vast majority of federal workers will once again work in person.”
This past April, the Biden administration issued guidance directing agencies to “substantially increase in-person work” although it didn’t offer much by way of specifics.
However, an email that was recently made public indicates the Biden administration might finally be starting to follow through on its calls to scale back telework among federal employees.
Axios reported that White House Chief of Staff Jeff Zients wrote last week in an email to Cabinet members, “We are returning to in-person work because it is critical to the well-being of our teams and will enable us to deliver better results for the American people.” Reuters confirmed the report.
Zients added, “As we look towards the fall, and with the end of the COVID-19 public health emergency, your agencies will be implementing increases in the amount of in-person work for your team. This is a priority of the President — and I am looking to each of you to aggressively execute this shift in September and October.”
Letter to Agencies Renewing Request for Information on Telework Policies
The Honorable Jennifer Granholm
Secretary
United States Department of Energy
1000 Independence Ave., SW
Washington, DC 20585
Dear Secretary Granholm:
August 4, 2023
We are writing to reiterate our May 18, 2023, request for information regarding telework and remote policies at your agency. To date, we have not received information responsive to our request, raising concerns that your agency is intentionally withholding this information from Congress or is not tracking it as required by law.
As noted in our original letter, agencies are required to compile information under existing statute and Office of Management and Budget (OMB) guidance. In addition, agencies are required to update Work Environment Plans pursuant to OMB’s Memorandum M-23-15 issued April 23, 2023, which requires information similar to many aspects of our request. In a recent briefing to Committee on Oversight and Accountability staff, OMB officials stated that nearly all Chief Financial Officers (CFO) Act agencies have submitted plans for review. It stands to reason, therefore, that agencies possess the information we seek, yet are choosing not to provide it to the Committee.
Central to this issue is the concern that agencies—and certainly the Office of Personnel Management—do not know how many employees are teleworking or working remotely, or how often they do so. A recent Government Accountability Office (GAO) study on federal building occupancy suggests that in some components of federal agencies, the vast majority of employees are not coming to the office on a regular basis. Indeed, some agency headquarters reported occupancy rates as low as nine percent.
The purpose of our oversight is to ensure that in the shift to widespread telework and remote work that agencies are able to hold employees accountable and accomplish their missions. In the absence of relevant information, we are left to make assumptions and draw conclusions.
If your agency does not comply fully with the Committee’s May 18, 2023, request no later than August 18, 2023, we will be forced to consider compulsory processes to obtain the information necessary to perform appropriate oversight over the Biden Administration’s telework and remote work policies.
