Back to Work Act

The Back to Work Act proposes to significantly restrict telework for federal agency employees. If enacted, the bill would cap remote work at 40 percent of an employee's working days per pay period, effectively requiring federal staff to be in the office at least three days a week. It would also require agencies to implement technical monitoring of remote work and subject all telework agreements to annual reviews. Notably, the legislation aims to eliminate locality-based pay adjustments and automatic annual raises for any employee who maintains a telework agreement.

Agencies would retain the authority to further restrict telework based on job duties, such as handling classified information, but could grant waivers for specific circumstances. These exceptions include employees married to military members or law enforcement, those in highly specialized or hard-to-fill roles, or during emergencies like inclement weather. To ensure compliance and measure impact, the bill would require agencies to submit annual reports to Congress regarding the effectiveness of their telework policies, which would then be audited by the Government Accountability Office.