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Washington, D.C.—The leader of the nation’s largest independent union of federal employees today called for prompt consideration of a bill introduced in the House that would lead to both development of a uniform policy across the federal government concerning telework and an expansion of telework opportunities to more of the federal workforce.

The bipartisan Telework Improvement Act of 2009, introduced by Rep. John Sarbanes (D-Md.), would instruct the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to develop such a uniform policy. A similar measure was approved by the House last year.

“There is everything to gain by significantly expanding telework in the federal sector, and nothing to lose,” said President Colleen M. Kelley of the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU).

The Sarbanes bill is co-sponsored by Rep. Frank Wolf (R-Va.), a long-time leader in the effort to expand federal telework opportunities, and Rep. Gerald Connolly (D-Va.), who had extensive experience with telework as an elected leader in Fairfax County, Va., prior to his election to the House. The bill will be taken up by the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.

In addition to its instructions to OPM, the measure would ensure that eligible federal employees could telework at least 20 percent of the hours they work each two-week period; designate a telework managing officer in each agency and department; expand training opportunities for both employees and managers on telework, while strengthening protections against punitive treatment for those who wish to telework; require OPM to compile government-wide data on telework; and require the Government Accountability Office to evaluate agency compliance while producing an annual report to Congress and making it available electronically to the public.

Rep. Sarbanes, who called the proposal “pragmatic, common-sense legislation,” noted the importance of the flexibilities provided by telework in making a career in government “more attractive to the next generation of civil servants.”

He pointed out that federal employees have not been able to take full advantage of telework over the past decade in large part because agencies “have been hampered by a lack of guidance and training” as well as “uneven application among managers and supervisors.”

That latter problem—which essentially flows from a reluctance by some managers to have their staffs located anywhere other than directly in their offices where he or she has access to them—has been cited by President Kelley as the principal impediment to expanding telework opportunities in the federal sector.

“It is largely a matter of trust on the part of managers,” the NTEU leader said. “When managers can overcome their initial reluctance, they learn that telework boosts morale and productivity. Along with the benefits of reduced traffic and commuting times and an improved environment, that clearly points in the direction of expanding telework to a significant degree in the federal workforce.”

As the largest independent federal union, NTEU represents 150,000 employees in 31 agencies and departments.