Federal workers could request telework and appeal denials

Supervisors would decide employee telework requests, give written reasons, and set a clear schedule for each approval. This process would cover executive branch employees and operate alongside other telework authority. Supervisors would weigh job requirements, medical or disability needs, caregiving duties, commuting time, and other relevant factors. When practical, an employee with an urgent medical condition would receive 10 to 15 business days of telework during review. No one could retaliate against an employee for requesting telework or appealing.

Employees could appeal through their agency and take an adverse agency decision to the Merit Systems Protection Board. Agency appeals would cover review errors or requests to change the amount or length of approved telework. An employee alleging a review error must have a substantial reason. Health information could be requested but must remain confidential without the employee's consent. A request or agency appeal would be temporarily approved if still undecided 90 days after submission, lasting until a final decision.

Agencies would run telework offices and post updated policies; OPM would report results to Congress. Each office's managing officer must be a senior career civil servant with direct access to the agency head, not a political or excepted-service worker. The offices would review appeals, and updated policies must appear on agency websites. Within one year after enactment and yearly afterward, OPM would report approval, denial, medical or caregiving, disability or long-commute, and pending-request totals.

Federal agencies could not use federal money to carry out specified return-to-office directives. The restriction would cover the January 20, 2025 presidential memorandum, later related orders or directives, and associated agency guidance aimed at ending remote work and requiring in-person work.

The proposal would not override covered collective-bargaining agreements between the federal government and labor organizations. This protection would apply to agreements in effect on the enactment date and agreements made later. For agreements made on or after enactment, the parties could bargain over telework conditions and procedures despite the proposal.