WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Rep. Dan Newhouse (WA-04) introduced The Federal Employee Return to Work Act to crack down on wasteful government spending and incentivize federal employees to return to in-person work. Federal employees who telework from home currently receive annual locality bonuses despite not being required to physically attend their offices located in a high-cost-of-living area.
Senator Bill Cassidy of Louisiana introduced the companion legislation in the U.S. Senate.
“For the last four years, D.C. bureaucrats have abused telework policies and exploited locality bonuses while our federal agencies’ buildings sit empty. This legislation is very clear; show up to where you are being paid to work so we can end this abuse of taxpayer dollars,” said Rep. Newhouse.
U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy (R-LA) said, “Federal employees get paid extra to work in higher-cost cities. But why should they get paid that rate if they don’t go into work and live somewhere other than DC? If you don’t show up for work, your pay should reflect that.”
Background:
The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) found that 17 of the 24 federal agencies were using 25% or less of their headquarters building’s capacity at the beginning of 2023.
GAO identified six agencies that were on average 91% vacant while their employees still received a 16.44% locality bonus compared to the rest of the country, regardless of their in-office attendance. These agencies included the Social Security Administration, the Small Business Administration, and the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
The bill excludes federal employees who telework from receiving raises and special locality bonuses for their office location being in a high-cost-of-living area despite working from home. Locality pay is an additional percentage of a federal employee’s salary based on where they work.
The bill does not apply to federal employees who have a disability and receive reasonable accommodation; are members of the Foreign Service; Federal law enforcement; or the Armed Services on active duty.
Full bill text can be found here.