EXCLUSIVE — Federal workers would be required to return to in-person work under a bill introduced by Arizona Republican Rep. Andy Biggs on Friday.

The bill, dubbed the “Return to Work Act” and first shared with the Washington Examiner, would require federal agencies to return to telework policies used at the end of 2019, before changes were implemented due to the coronavirus pandemic, within 60 days of enactment.

“The majority of Americans have returned to work. There’s no excuse for federal agencies to continue a strict telework schedule for their employees,” Biggs said in a statement.

“By not coming to the office, federal agencies have created a backlog of service requests. This backlog has prevented many Americans, especially our veterans, from receiving the service and care they need,” Biggs added. “Americans are deservedly frustrated that they are not receiving the services that are owed to them. It’s well overdue for our federal workers to join the rest of the workforce and return to the office.”

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The Department of Veterans Affairs said in October 2021 that “operational changes necessitated by the COVID-19 pandemic” contributed to a record backlog in claims. A backlog in requests for veterans’ records in the National Archives’s National Personnel Records Center has also built up due to COVID-19 remote work, Roll Call reported.

Policies on remote work vary from agency to agency. The omicron variant delayed some agency plans to phase out remote work. In a report released earlier this month, the Government Accountability Office found that telework hours in some federal agencies comprised more than 80% of total work time, but it said that the reliability of data on telework could be improved.

The Office of Personnel Management issued a memo in November that encouraged federal agencies to make telework policies an option for employees in some form going forward.

“[Agencies] should strive to fully integrate telework into their culture, providing all employees (other than those legally prohibited from doing so) the opportunity to telework at least occasionally,” it said.

Biggs is not the only Republican concerned about in-person staffing. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy sent a letter to Biden administration officials in December to express “serious concerns” about telework and inquire about why the operating status remains at maximum telework and information about reentry plans.

While it is unlikely that the bill is brought up in a Democratic-controlled House, the widespread GOP concern about federal employees working remotely suggests that Republicans could take action if they win back the House in 2022.

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Eight Republicans are co-sponsors of the bill: Reps. Andy Harris of Maryland, Brian Babin of Texas, Ted Budd of North Carolina, Michael Cloud of Texas, Bill Posey of Florida, Ralph Norman of South Carolina, Jody Hice of Georgia, and Bob Good of Virginia.

Read the full bill below:

Original Location: Bill would make federal employees still working remote return to office

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