A union representing 2,500 employees of the Government Accountability Office, an independent, nonpartisan agency that audits the federal government, has reached an agreement that preserves telework and remote work for its workforce as many other agencies are calling their employees back to work.
“We reached an agreement that incorporates the lessons learned from our working stance in the face of the pandemic,” said Benjamin Emmel, president of a local chapter of the International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineersin a statement. “It reflects the fact that for decades GAO employees have not only been located in Washington, but assigned to field offices across the country, and explains the wide range of work assignments our members perform.”
The agreement, which was ratified by the union and approved by Comptroller General Gene Dodaro last week, maintains flexible work arrangements that have been in place even before the pandemic forced much of the government to work entirely remotely, Emmel said in an interview.
According to the contract, which serves as an addendum to the full collective bargaining agreement, employees approved for routine telework must report to the workplace a minimum of four times per month. Under the hybrid option, workers can only report when required by their job duties, and others can work completely remotely.
“The agency decided to examine and develop policies that would allow for more flexibility and more arrangements and that would apply to a broader range of employees,” Emmel said.
Employees will request the option they feel works best, managers will approve it, and Emmel said he expects that process to continue to be implemented throughout the year. The union also said, as others have, that this benefits the agency’s ability to maintain and grow its workforce, especially since employees across the government have indicated they are willing to look for work if forced to return to offices full time.
“It’s no secret that today’s professionals are looking for flexibility to manage and succeed in their work and personal lives,” Emmel added. “And now the agency can advertise and offer these flexibilities, obviously not only to the current workforce for retention purposes, but also to recruit talented individuals.”
In recent months, other agencies have come under pressure to increase in-person attendance, with lawmakers on Capitol Hill mixing concerns about empty commercial office spaces, poor customer service and delays with claims of “lazy” remote workers that unions and employees have said are unproven and offensive.
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Like many structured telework agreements negotiated with agencies, GAO’s is governed by eligibility guidelines, supervisor approval and a recognition that circumstances may change and require an employee to report to the site to complete the assignment.
“This will really depend on individual teams and work projects because in-person needs will be different,” Emmel said. “GAO involvement can take many forms. In one report, we may be analyzing data. In others, we are conducting site visits and focus groups with federal employees or service members or conducting audit visits to different federal facilities to inspect conditions.”
The GAO also uses its own unique compensation system, and the agreement modifies the rules to allow for localities and pay scales that span the entire United States and not just where the headquarters is located in Washington, D.C.
More than 3,000 employees work at GAO.
Molly Weisner is a reporter for the Federal Times, where she covers labor, policy and hiring issues related to the government workforce. She previously worked at USA Today and McClatchy as a digital producer, and at The New York Times as a copy editor. Molly majored in journalism at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
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