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119-hr-357119th CongressWALLET

Back to Work Act

Sponsored By: Representative Nunn, Zachary [R-IA-3]

Introduced

Summary

Caps federal telework at 40% of work days. This bill would limit how much federal employees can work remotely and remove certain pay adjustments for employees who sign telework agreements.

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  • Federal employees who telework would be limited to 40% of work days and those in written telework agreements would be ineligible for automatic annual pay adjustments and receive the "Rest of United States" locality pay rate instead of higher local rates.
  • Families of service members and law enforcement could keep remote options because spouses of Armed Forces members or federal law enforcement officers are eligible for waivers to the telework cap.
  • Agencies could tighten telework for managers, newly appointed staff, or employees with access to classified information, and grant waivers for positions needing specialized expertise, frequent travel, or that are hard to fill.
  • Agencies must monitor telework with remote technical methods, review telework policies annually, report metrics on productivity, security, and costs to Congress each year, and the Government Accountability Office will evaluate each report for accuracy.

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Bill Overview

Analyzed Economic Effects

3 provisions identified: 0 benefits, 3 costs, 0 mixed.

40% telework cap for federal workers

If enacted, federal employees who sign a telework agreement could telework no more than 40% of work days each pay period. Agency heads could set a lower limit for some roles, like managers, new hires, or staff who handle classified information. They could waive the cap for certain cases, like spouses of service members or federal law enforcement, specialist or hard‑to‑fill jobs, frequent travel, or bad weather and other emergencies. These changes would start 180 days after enactment.

Pay limits for federal teleworkers

If enacted, employees who sign a telework agreement would not get the annual across‑the‑board pay raise. They would receive locality pay at the "Rest of United States" rate, not their usual higher local rate. This could lower pay for many teleworkers in high‑cost areas. These changes would start 180 days after enactment.

More oversight of federal telework

If enacted, each telework agreement would be reviewed and approved by the agency head every year. Agencies would also monitor and evaluate employees while they telework, using remote technical tools and other methods. These steps would begin 180 days after enactment.

Sponsors & CoSponsors

Sponsor

Nunn, Zachary [R-IA-3]

IA • R

Cosponsors

  • Rep. Newhouse, Dan [R-WA-4]

    WA • R

    Sponsored 1/13/2025

Roll Call Votes

No roll call votes available for this bill.

View on Congress.gov
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