Congressional Republicans from the House Oversight Committee commence proceedings with diatribes denouncing telework and labor unions.
The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee has raised concerns about telework and union policies at federal agencies, with a particular focus on the Social Security Administration (SSA). The committee held a hearing titled 'The Stay-at-Home Federal Workforce', criticizing the Biden administration's handling of pandemic-era telework.
According to Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., federal agency offices are mostly empty due to the administration's failure to end pandemic-era telework. He accused Biden administration officials of coddling federal workers with telework, implying they shirk their duties.
The SSA, which has seen its staffing level fall to 50-year lows, has relied heavily on telework. Telework has been a crucial tool for the SSA workforce, with ALJ hearings for disability claimants, which were previously all in-person, now having bandwidth on dockets all over the country due to changes made during the pandemic.
However, the SSA came under particular scrutiny due to an agreement with the American Federation of Government Employees that updated union contracts to reflect current telework policies and locked them in place until 2029. Chairman Comer questioned what concessions were made to the SSA's union in exchange for the generous telework entitlement.
Martin O'Malley, who served as Commissioner of the SSA, emphasized that eliminating telework is not an option due to reduced staffing levels at the agency. He stated that everything he did at the SSA was about improving customer service. Notably, O'Malley removed language allowing management to change or terminate any telework agreement for operational needs from the contract.
In 2024, the agency saw a 6% increase in productivity under its current telework policy. However, around 80% of all federal work hours are done in-person, with federal workers who engage in telework spending 61.2% of their work hours in-person, on average.
The Office of Management and Budget data shows that only 54% of the federal workforce is eligible for telework. The SSA gave up $10 to $20 million in potential exposure to the agency due to ongoing grievances that were not resolved. A settlement of $22 million was made on a similar case before O'Malley came in.
SSA management can temporarily suspend the ability to use telework, but not eliminate it. Kilolo Kijakazi succeeded Martin O'Malley as Commissioner of the SSA. The Committee's criticisms have sparked a debate about the balance between telework and in-person work in federal agencies, with implications for productivity, staffing, and union agreements.
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