{"id":17962,"date":"2020-10-02T16:53:48","date_gmt":"2020-10-02T16:53:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/uncategorized\/2020\/10\/02\/how-the-new-covid-response-bill-would-impact-feds\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T04:48:41","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T04:48:41","slug":"how-the-new-covid-response-bill-would-impact-feds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/congress\/2020\/10\/02\/how-the-new-covid-response-bill-would-impact-feds\/","title":{"rendered":"How the new COVID response bill would impact feds"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The House passed a scaled-back version<\/a> of its COVID relief package Thursday that still contains several provisions impacting the federal workplace<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chief among those changes would be a requirement that every telework-authorized federal employee be placed on permanent telework status through the end of the year, reversing many of the return to the office efforts<\/a> that agencies have enacted over the past few months.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That section of the bill would also require agencies to proactively plan to expand their telework programs, mandate that agencies report to the Office of Personnel Management and Congress if they plan to cut back on any programs and prohibit across-the-board telework cuts.<\/p>\n\n\n\t