{"id":25922,"date":"2023-09-20T16:58:13","date_gmt":"2023-09-20T16:58:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/uncategorized\/2023\/09\/20\/gao-union-employees-keep-flexible-work-options-in-new-contract\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T05:02:57","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T05:02:57","slug":"gao-union-employees-keep-flexible-work-options-in-new-contract","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/management\/career-management\/2023\/09\/20\/gao-union-employees-keep-flexible-work-options-in-new-contract\/","title":{"rendered":"GAO union employees keep flexible work options in new contract"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A union representing 2,500 employees at the Government Accountability Office, an independent, nonpartisan agency that audits the federal government, secured an agreement that preserves telework and remote work for its <\/a>workforce while many other agencies are calling employees back. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe reached an agreement that incorporates lessons learned from our pandemic work posture,\u201d said Benjamin Emmel, president of a local chapter of the International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers<\/a>, in a statement. \u201cIt reflects the fact that for decades GAO employees have not only been located in Washington, but assigned to field offices across the country, and accounts for the wide range of work assignments that our members do.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The agreement, which was ratified by the union and approved by Comptroller General Gene Dodaro last week, maintains flexible working configurations that have been in place even before the pandemic forced much of government to go fully remote, Emmel said in an interview.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Under the contract, which serves as an addendum to the full collective bargaining agreement, employees approved for routine telework are required to report onsite a minimum of four times per month. Under the hybrid option, workers may only report as needed depending on their job tasks, and others still may work fully remotely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe agency chose to examine and develop policies that would allow for more flexibilities and more arrangements and that would apply to a greater number of employees,\u201d Emmel said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Employees will apply for the option that they think works best, managers will approve them and Emmel said he expects that process to continue implementation over the year. The union also said, as others have, that this benefits the agency\u2019s ability to maintain and grow its workforce, especially as employees governmentwide have indicated they\u2019re willing to job hunt if they\u2019re forced to return to offices full time. <\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s no secret that today\u2019s professionals are looking for flexibility to manage and succeed in their work and their personal lives,\u201d Emmel added. \u201cAnd now the agency can advertise and offer these flexibilities, obviously not just for the current workforce for retention purposes, but also [for] recruit[ing] talented individuals.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Other agencies have been pressured to increase in-person attendance in recent months, with lawmakers on Capitol Hill mixing concerns about empty commercial office space, poor customer service and backlogs with claims of \u201clazy\u201d remote workers that unions and employees have said is unproven and offensive.<\/p>\n\n\n\t