Hooray Telework is now a Bill!!!

Today, President Obama signed H.R. 1722, the Telework Enhancement Act of 2010, into law. The House of Representatives passed the bill last Thursday with a bipartisan vote of 254 to 152. The Senate passed the final version of the legislation by unanimous consent on September 29.

What does this mean for your agency? The legislation grants Federal employees eligibility to telework and requires Federal agencies to establish telework policies and designate a Telework Managing Officer. Now, Federal agencies must:

  • After 180 days:
    • Establish policy for eligible employees to telework
    • Determine employee eligibility
    • Notify all employees of their eligibility
  • Establish interactive training programs for teleworkers and telework managers
  • Include telework in business continuity (COOP) plans
  • Designate a Telework Managing Officer
    • Must be a senior official with direct access to agency head
  • Provide yearly progress reports to the Office of Personnel Management
I’m thrilled to see that this bill has finally become law. Congrats to everyone who has worked countless hours to make this bill become a law.

Leave a Comment

5 Comments

Leave a Reply

Peter Sperry

Not to throw too much cold water on this but……………

Who is responsible for NIST certification of employees home computer systems?

What about NIST certification of employees ISP?

Will agencies be expected to provide NIST compliant hardware, including printers (they have a memory buffer), so employees can telework or will employees absorb this expense?

Agency compliance with NIST is making it more and more difficult to work from my office, let alone from home. I seriously doubt Comcast, Verizon etc will be ready to meet NIST requirments anytime soon and I absolutely will not install anything NIST on my personal electronics (pouring mollassas on the hard drive could hardly slow the system down any worse).

GSA could establish even more NIST certified telework centers; but the existing ones have been around for years without much impact. A few have been closed due to lack of interest. Perhaps the new bill will reverse the trend.

Overall, it seems that Congress has climbed on the telework bandwagon just as NIST shoots the wheels off.

C Stephenson

Great news!!!! There is already a FIPS 140-2, Level 1 CERTIFIED web-based video conferencing tool on the NIST list. This product provides true end to end security and it is only $23.75 per month for unlimited usage! All you need is a laptop or a desktop and a simple webcam and you are able to meet and collaborate with anyone in the world from anywhere in the world. Go to the NIST site and check out the vendors who have currently met the strict standards set forth by NIST, or send me an email at [email protected].

Lindsey L Williams

Yes,

I have been waiting on this also. I drive 55 minutes each way to work and would enjoy saving the money for gas and toll expenses.

Gena Bane

This is excellent and now with the increase number of Teleworkers the use of consumer personal devices will be more frequently used (non-blackberry). Speak with me if you want to be sure government data is secured on employee personal devices (iPads, iPhones, Droids, etc.). http://www.good.com

Gena