Arizona GOP Rep. Andy Biggs is introducing legislation that if pass will require workers at U.S. federal agencies to work in person.
The bill, the Return to Work Act, specifically mandates that agencies reinstate whatever telework policies they had in place prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.
"Beginning on the date on which the head of an executive agency reinstates the telework policies in use by such executive agency on December 31, 2019, the reinstated telework policy of such executive agency shall apply in place of any telework provision of a teleworking, collective bargaining, or other employment agreement of such executive agency to the extent that such telework provision conflicts with, or applies a different telework policy than, the reinstated telework policy of such executive agency," reads the bill.
Biggs, who also has consistently advocated for an in-person return to classes for students, argues that the ongoing and seemingly indefinite work from home policies of various federal agencies are leading to a backlog of requests and other government inefficiencies.
