Lawmaker calls for telework incentives during shutdowns

As snow continued to shut down federal agencies in the Washington area this week, a Virginia lawmaker asked the Office of Personnel Management to document productivity savings from telework and to consider how employees who work remotely are disproportionately affected by closures.

"You've got this double standard," said Rep Gerry Connolly (D-VA). "The rest of the workforce is given a free day, but if you've signed a telework agreement in some agencies, you're required to work from a remote location. Obviously unintentionally, it serves as a disincentive." Rep Connolly said he didn't want to discourage telework, but that he hoped to talk to OPM Director John Berry about incentives to reward employees who telework when the work day is canceled for their office-working colleagues. He praised Berry for using the government closures to encourage managers and employees to put telework agreements to use, and for working to expand telework since he was sworn in last spring.