Ahuja spoke before the House Oversight and Accountability Committee, where he said telecommuting benefits the government and its nearly 2 million employees.
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Kiran Ahuja, director of the Office of Personnel Management, said this week that federal telecommuting will remain an option for federal staff long after COVID ends. (POOL CNP/INSTARimages/Cover images/Reuters)
“These benefits come with increased productivity, increased worker engagement, lower worker attrition, larger hiring groups and job savings for agencies and workers,” he said.
Ahuja added that if federal workers are now back in the workplace more than they were during the pandemic, the government wants to make sure it continues to offer work-from-home functions to keep the federal workforce happy.
“Healthy, high-performing organizations are needed to provide the American public with the service it deserves, and agencies’ efforts to evaluate and benchmark their organization’s organizational aptitude and performance, adding the impact on work arrangements, will need to be strong. “and ongoing,” he said.
In response to questions from Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-Va. , Ahuja said OPM’s existing direction is for federal agencies to evaluate whether telework agreements or other policies are needed to help federal workers “accomplish their project for the American people. “
Asked if those rules would be tightened after President Biden’s expected resolution to end the COVID emergency in May, Ahuja said no, an answer that worries even Connolly, who represents thousands of federal employees in his Northern Virginia district.
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Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-Va. , stated that Republicans and Democrats would likely seek a stricter policy for displaying paintings after COVID ends. (Michael Brochstein/SOPA Images)
“If the pre-appearance of the United States says the emergency is over, I guarantee you that my friends across the aisle, probably joined through a smart number of other people on this side of the aisle, will expect the needs to be replaced with this update,” he said. “The same recommendation cannot be true in June of this year as it was, say, in the depths of the pandemic in early 2020. “
Republicans seized on the hearing to point out that federal staff have already had too much peace of mind and want to return to the office, with many saying the growing number of court cases about sluggish federal service is likely due to overly relaxed telecommuting policies.
Rep. Glenn Grothman, R-Wis. , asked a series of questions about how many federal staff members still work remotely and how many could continue to do so when the COVID emergency ends, but Ahuja didn’t know. answer questions from Rep. Gary Palmer, R-Ala. , about how many federal employees have left Washington, D. C. to work remotely, and if they still receive a higher salary to reflect higher costs. live in the National Capital Region.
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House Oversight and Reform Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky. , helped pass a bill last month requiring federal staff to return to work. (Jonathan Ernst-Pool/Getty Images)
“We shouldn’t be paying the D. C. City Salary. by other people who don’t paint in D. C. ,” Palmer said.
Republicans have been scrambling to keep the feet of federal workers under fire over telecommuting ever since they took over the House. back to the workplace, a bill that only 3 Democrats supported and 205 opposed.
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“Federal agencies are not fulfilling their missions,” Oversight and Accountability Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky. , told the House in February. “They are not fulfilling their duties. They’re letting other Americans down. “
Pete Kasperowicz is a politician at Fox News Digital.