Establishing Remote Work or Telework Eligibility


Remote Work

Remote work is an arrangement in which an employee is under a written remote work agreement, scheduled to perform work at an alternative worksite, and is not expected to perform work at an Agency worksite on a regular and recurring basis.

The official worksite for a General Schedule (GS) employee covered by a remote work agreement is the location of the remote worksite (e.g., alternative worksite). A remote worker’s official worksite may be inside or outside the local commuting area of an Agency worksite. If the employee's work involves recurring travel or varies on a recurring basis, the location where the work activities of the employee's position of record are based is considered the regular place of work. This is often the employee’s home and is documented as the employee’s duty station on the employee’s Notification of Personnel Action, Standard Form (SF) 50, or equivalent.

Certain location-based pay entitlements (such as Title 5 locality payments, special rate supplements, and non-foreign area cost-of-living allowances) are based on the location of the employee’s official worksite associated with the employee’s position of record. Remote work arrangements, in which a GS employee or other employee covered by Title 5 locality pay, special rates, and non-foreign area cost-of-living allowances, does not report to the Agency worksite at least twice each biweekly PP on a regular recurring basis (and for which a temporary exception to this requirement has not been approved), will require a documented change in official worksite to the alternative worksite.

Overall, the eligibility of a given position for remote work should be based on a determination that the position’s duties and responsibilities may be performed at an alternative worksite without negatively impacting employee performance or Agency operations.

Telework

The Telework Enhancement Act (The Act) was signed into law on December 9, 2010. The Act defines telework or teleworking as a work flexibility arrangement under which an employee performs the duties and responsibilities of such employee's position, and other authorized activities, from an approved worksite other than the location from which the employee would otherwise work. In practice, telework is a work arrangement that allows employees to have regularly scheduled days on which they telework and regularly scheduled days when they work at their Agency worksite. Refer to the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) regulations regarding the determination of an employee’s official duty station while teleworking.

The Act specifically identifies the following categories of participation:

  • 3 or more days per PP (denotes a biweekly PP)
  • 1 or 2 days per PP
  • Once per month
  • On an occasional, episodic, or short-term basis (e.g., situational telework such as ad-hoc or unscheduled telework as described above)

To Assist with Meeting Reporting Requirements, OPM Defines Two Categories of Telework:

  • Routine telework. Telework occurs as part of an ongoing regular schedule.
    • Arrangement often thought of as the typical telework experience.
    • Approved to telework on a schedule that is regular and recurring, most often on an agreed-upon day or days during a biweekly PP.
    • The regularly scheduled telework day(s) are specified in a written telework agreement between the employee and employee's supervisor.

  • Situational telework. Telework is approved on a case-by-case basis and the hours worked are not part of a previously approved, ongoing, and regular telework schedule.
    • The availability of situational telework is usually specified in a written telework agreement between the employee and employee's supervisor.
    • Various scenarios in which an employee can be approved for this type of telework include, but are not limited to:
      • An employee with a short-term need for uninterrupted time to complete work on a complex project.
      • An employee with dependent care responsibilities.
      • An employee recovering from illness or an injury who is able to perform work, but temporarily unable to physically report to the Agency worksite.
      • An employee who opts for unscheduled telework when OPM announces the Federal Government operating status, in the area of the employee’s Agency worksite, as "Open with Option for Unscheduled Leave or Unscheduled Telework."

Additionally, any employee who wishes to telework (regardless of which type) must successfully complete an interactive telework training program provided by the Agency and must enter into a written agreement with the supervisor. Supervisors of teleworking employees must also complete telework training before entering into a telework agreement.

Overall, the eligibility of a given position for telework should be based on the determination that the position’s duties and responsibilities may be performed at an alternative worksite without negatively impacting employee performance or Agency operations.

Lastly, two categories of employees are not eligible for telework under any circumstances:

  • An employee who has been officially disciplined for being absent without permission for more than 5 days in any calendar year.
  • An employee who has been officially disciplined for viewing, downloading, or exchanging pornography, including child pornography, on a Federal Government computer or while performing official Federal Government duties.

Reporting

Each year, OPM prepares and submits a report to Congress that addresses the telework programs of each Agency. This annual collaboration often begins with a Call for Telework Data from OPM to the Agencies and culminates in the Status of Telework in the Federal Government Report to Congress. OPM implemented telework data standards to support the goal of collecting automated telework data. Agencies are required to report data on telework under the following data elements:

  • Routine Telework Hours In PP. Number of hours worked as part of a previously approved, ongoing, and regular telework schedule.
  • Routine Telework Instances In PP. Number of instances during the PP that an employee teleworked and where those instances were part of a previously approved, ongoing and regular telework schedule.
  • Situational Telework Hours In PP. Number of hours during the PP that an employee teleworked, and where those hours were not part of a previously approved, ongoing and regular telework schedule.
  • Situational Telework Instances In PP. Number of instances during the PP that an employee teleworked, and where those instances were not part of a previously approved, ongoing and regular telework schedule (e.g., telework as a result of inclement weather, doctor appointment, or special work assignments).

These telework eligibility and usage data are collected, summarized, and reported to OPM via the monthly Enterprise Human Resources Integration (EHRI) data feed and biweekly EHRI payroll data feed. OPM uses this data to meet OPM’s annual reporting requirements to Congress under the Telework Enhancement Act of 2010, as well as analyze the data to demonstrate links between telework and outcomes, including employee engagement.

Documenting the Agreement in the National Finance Center (NFC) Payroll/Personnel System (PPS)

The Remote/Telework Agreement Type field identifies the type of agreement in place for the position/employee on the Individual Position in the Position Management System Online (PMSO), EmpowHR, and the Front-End System Interface (FESI). The valid values are:

  • MW – Mobile Work Agreement
  • NN – Non-teleworker
  • RW – Remote Work Agreement
  • TF – Frequent Routine Telework Agreement
  • TP – Periodic Routine Telework Agreement
  • TS – Situational Telework Agreement

Note: Mobile work is characterized by routine and regular travel to conduct work in customer or other worksites as opposed to a single authorized alternative worksite. Examples of mobile work include site audits, site inspections, investigations, property management, and work performed while commuting, traveling between worksites, or on Temporary Duty.

NFC-supported Time and Attendance (T&A) applications allow the entry of information pertaining to remote work or telework agreements. Agency representatives should obtain the approval of the Agency records management officer prior to filing agreements or other documentation in their specific T&A application. Refer to Agency guidance for entry and removal of information regarding telework agreements into the Agency’s T&A application.

Identifying Remote Work and Telework Positions in NFC PPS

There is no indicator to identify positions eligible for remote work.

To identify a position eligible for telework, complete the Telework Eligibility field in PMSO, EmpowHR and FESI. Entry of data in this field is optional and used for Agency reporting purposes only. It does not impact the EHRI reporting or salary computations.

The valid values are:

  • Y – Position Eligible to Telework
  • N – Position Not Eligible to Telework

The official duty station must be identified for both remote work and telework positions and is included in the telework or remote work agreement. When the duty station changes, document the change on the position using the following fields:

  • Location fields in EmpowHR
  • Duty Station fields in FESI
  • Duty Station fields in PMSO

Refer to the EmpowHR, FESI, and PMSO guidance for instructions on entering or changing position information. For EmpowHR and FESI users – after the document applies, verify the data in these fields is valid in the Individual Position in PMSO.

Changing the Employee’s Duty Station in NFC PPS

When the duty station changes on the position occupied by an employee due to a telework or remote work agreement, the change must be documented on a personnel action and filed in the employee’s Official Personnel Folder. The personnel action is processed in the Web-based Entry, Processing, Inquiry, and Correction System (EPIC Web), EmpowHR, or FESI, and the Nature of Action Code (NOAC) is determined according to the OPM Guide to Processing Personnel Actions (GPPA).

Note: NOAC 792, Change in Duty Station, is used only when the duty station is changing. It cannot be used if any other change is occurring on the personnel action.

Some personnel office identifiers (POIs) are trying to use NOAC 792 for duty station changes that move the employee into a different locality pay area. When locality pay is changing, NOAC 792 should not be used. Consult the GPPA to determine the appropriate NOAC. 

Refer to EPIC Web, FESI, and EmpowHR guidance for instructions on entering personnel actions. After the personnel action applies, verify the duty station information on IRIS Program IR122, SF 50B Data Elements.

Establishing the Employee’s Telework Eligibility

Document Type 120, Multi-Element Update, is used to indicate the employee’s eligibility to participate in telework. The valid values for the Telework Eligibility Indicator (field number 000014) are:

  • Y – Yes, eligible to telework
  • N – No, not eligible to telework

Refer to the EPIC Web, FESI, and EmpowHR guidance for instructions on entering the Document Type 120, Multi-Element Update. After the document applies, verify the Telework Eligible field information is correct on IRIS Program IR119, Employee Personnel Data.

T&A Reporting in NFC PPS

The following T&A Report codes are used to report time spent teleworking. The valid values are:

  • TC 54, Telework
  • TC 54, Suffix 0, Telework, Routine
  • TC 54, Suffix 1, Telework, Situational

This Transaction Code (TC) is used with the regular TC pay codes and the Prefix field is used to enter the number of occurrences the employee teleworked for the associated hours. There is a maximum of two occurrences per day for Suffix 1, Telework, Situational, which is a maximum of 14 a week and 28 a PP.

A T&A non-fatal error occurs when the employee or Agency enters TC 54 and the telework Eligibility Indicator is not Y/Yes in IRIS Program IR119, Employee Personnel Data. The error message appears on the CULP0099, Error Analysis by Contact Point, report.

Refer to Agency T&A instructions and the T&A Instructions for entering an employee’s time while teleworking or performing remote work. After the document applies, verify the hours and TCs in the Payroll/Personnel Inquiry System (PINQ), PINQ Program PQ024, TA Miscellaneous, under Other Time.

NFC PPS Reports

Reports are created in the Reporting Center (RPCT), and the information is available in Insight. In the RPCT,  select Telework Report on the Workforce Reports menu. This report lists telework employees (Transaction Code 54, Telework) for the selected PP. Data for this report is obtained from NFC's T&A database and is updated biweekly.

Additionally, the following data is reported by NFC PPS on the EHRI Data Record Feed file sent to OPM for all Title 5 Agencies and other Agencies electing to participate in EHRI reporting:

  • Routine Telework Hours in the PP
  • Routine Telework Instances in the PP
  • Situational Telework Hours in the PP
  • Situational Telework Instances in the PP