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For more than 20 years, Federal government officials have been discussing telework options, alternatives, and strategies. Only in the past five years have technology, traffic, and talent converged to make these concepts a reality for many government employees, managers, and their constituents.
Congress passed Public Law 106-346. Each executive agency shall establish a policy under which eligible employees of the agency may participate in telecommuting to the maximum extent possible without diminished employee performance
OPM reports that 119,000 Federal employees teleworked in 2005 with 60% of them teleworking at least once a week
Roughly 36,000 civilian Defense Department employees are due to be relocated over the next three years as part of the base realignment and closure, or BRAC, process. Agencies, like DISA, are use telework solutions to combat BRAC
Telework Exchange launched, providing a series of Telework value calculators that tally the cost of Federal commuting
Virginia Governor Kaine signed an executive order establishing the Office of Telework Promotion and Broadband Assistance
OPM reports that 110,592 employees are teleworking in the Federal government
OPM reports that 94,643 Federal employees teleworked, representing 7.62% of all employees eligible to telework and the number of agencies that have fully integrated telework into emergency planning has increased to 60% from 42% in 2006. (Note, decrease in teleworking is a result of how agencies defined regular and reoccurring telework)
A CDW survey shows that private sector telecommuting adoption is on the rise (14%) and catching up to the adoption rates of Federal employees (17%)
OPM reports that 102,900 employees are teleworking, representing 8.67% of all employees eligible to telework
April
OPM Director, John Berry, announces five-part plan to increase participation in the Federal government’s telework programs
August
Gov. Tim Kaine announced the first ever state-wide Telework Day. Teleworkers saved approximately $113,000, avoided driving 14,000 miles, and removed 75.89 tons of pollutants from the air on this day
United States Patent and Trademark Office reported in their 2009 Telework Annual Report that to date more than 1,300 patent examiners have relinquished their office space to work from home 4 days per week. This has enabled the agency to avoid securing $11 million in additional office space
October
President Obama issued Executive Order 13514 that states that Federal agencies must reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 2020. Agencies need to evaluate employees' commuting profile and reduce its impact on the environment
December
In the next three years, public- and private-sector IT decision makers expect telework to increase by 65% and 33%, respectively
January
The Administration is focused on three areas in telework: Business continuity, using telework to create jobs especially for Americans with disabilities, and reducing carbon footprints. OPM Director John Berry and Aneesh Chopra, the White House CTO host a White House/Federal government group that is focused specifically on advancing telework in agencies
February
D.C. area hit with major snowstorm. OPM reported that the Federal government saved $30 million a day by teleworking
March
OPM Director, John Berry, states his goal to increase by 50% the number of eligible Federal employees who telework by FY 2011
The White House hosts Forum on Workplace Flexibility. The President said the government is committed to leading by example
April
Feds urged to telework during D.C.'s Nuclear Summit
Telework Exchange hosts 7th Town Hall Meeting. White House promises more attention to Americans with disabilities, encourages telework
May
Senate passes The Telework Enhancement Act of 2010 (S. 707) which requires each executive agency to establish a telework policy, determine and notify eligible employees, provide an interactive telework training program, and ensure that no distinction is made between teleworkers and non-teleworkers for purposes of performance appraisals, work requirements, or other acts involving managerial discretion
Representative James Moran predicts that commuting time in northern Virginia could increase to up to 5 hours per day when at least 13,000 BRAC jobs are relocated from Crystal City, which is two Metro stops from the Pentagon, to areas mostly dependent on cars. Forcing workers onto northern Virginia's roads will hinder their productivity
OPM found was that 10% of its employees said they telework at least one day a week. That translates to 200,000 Federal employees, meaning more Federal workers are teleworking than OPM previously thought
September
The U.S. Senate passed the final version of the The Telework Enhancement Act of 2010 (S. 707) by unanimous consent on September 29, 2010.
November
U.S. House passes the final version of The Telework Enhancement Act of 2010 (S. 707) with a bipartisan vote of 254-152 on November 18, 2010. The bill requires each executive agency to establish a policy under which employees may be authorized to telework to the maximum extent possible without diminishing employee performance or agency operations. In addition, agencies are required to designate a Telework Managing Officer and incorporate telework in continuity of operations planning. The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) will provide oversight and management support to Federal agencies.
December
President Obama signed into law the Telework Enhancement Act of 2010 on December 9, 2010.
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