We testified about key practices for agencies to consider as their workers re-enter the workplace during the COVID-19 pandemic or telework for sustained periods during this and other emergencies. These include: Communicating continuously with employees and considering local conditions when making workforce re-entry decisions Ensuring sufficient hygiene supplies like hand sanitizer are available...

The 23 civilian Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Act agencies reported various ways of considering and using telework as a space-planning tool, by, for example, implementing desk-sharing for employees who telework in order to relinquish leased space, or increasing the number of staff working in an existing space without increasing its size. All of the 23 agencies discussed telework in the context of...

Officials at the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) told GAO that recording telework hours for each pay period became a requirement in March 2017 at VA, but the agency does not yet have key controls in place to ensure that employees' telework hours are recorded accurately in the time and attendance system. Specifically, VA has not updated its agency-wide written telework policy and other guidance...

How are federal agencies managing their 400,000+ teleworkers? The 4 agencies we reviewed (Ed, GSA, Labor & SEC) generally met the reporting requirements in the Telework Enhancement Act of 2010. However we found some barriers to telework program success: Training timing: Managers may make telework decisions before training. Documentation: Agencies may not review telework agreements annually or d...

Benefits associated with telework programs include continuity of operations and reduced employee absences, based on GAO's literature review and the experiences of six selected agencies. The benefits most frequently cited by the selected agencies—the Department of Transportation (DOT), Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), General Services Administra...

The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) partially reported on two of the seven reporting requirements of the Telework Enhancement Act of 2010, but did not report agency information for the five remaining requirements. This was because insufficient time had elapsed for all requirements of the act to be fully implemented and because agencies appeared to face challenges in measuring outcomes for som...

From August 2005 to September 2010, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) awarded five contracts to reconstruct a major coastal road in Aceh Province, Indonesia. Three of the contracts were for construction, one contract was for design and supervision, and one contract was for project management. Several factors delayed the road’s completion and increased costs. For example, accor...

To prepare for its reporting obligations under the Telework Enhancement Act of 2010, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) assembled the Interagency Telework Measurement Group, consisting of officials from several federal agencies, to assist in revising the telework data call—the survey OPM has used since 2002 to collect telework data from executive agencies. This group standardized key te...

When historic snowstorms forced lengthy closings of federal offices in the National Capital Region in 2010, thousands of employees continued to work from their homes, making clear the potential of telework in mitigating the effects of emergencies. GAO was asked to (1) describe the guidance lead agencies have issued pertaining to the use of telework during emergencies; (2) describe Office of Person...

Protecting federal workers essential to ensuring the continuity of the country's critical operations will involve new challenges in the event of a pandemic influenza outbreak. This requested report discusses (1) the extent to which agencies have made pandemic plans to protect workers who cannot work remotely and are not first responders, (2) the pandemic plans selected agencies have for certain oc...

Telework continues to receive attention within Congress and federal agencies as a human capital strategy that offers various flexibilities to both employers and employees, including the capacity to continue operations during emergency events, as well as benefits to society, such as decreased energy use and pollution. This statement highlights some of GAO's prior work on federal telework programs,...

Telework--work done at a location other than a traditional office--has gained widespread attention over the past decade as a human capital flexibility offering various potential benefits to employers, employees, and society. Using such flexibilities as management tools can help the federal government address its human capital challenges. GAO did this study in response to a congressional request to...

During the COVID-19 pandemic, federal agencies have used telework as a strategy to help them continue their work in trying circumstances. We assembled our past work on federal telework to provide information that can help agencies improve their telework programs. We testified on key practices in 7 categories, including: Performance management. For example, agencies should ensure that teleworkers...

The National Mediation Board (NMB) helps airlines and railways and their related unions resolve labor disputes that could disrupt commerce in those industries. We are required by law to review NMB’s programs and activities every 2 years. NMB implemented our prior recommendation to improve ethical standards for employees seeking outside employment; 6 others remain open. Also, NMB doesn’t have...

The National Mediation Board (NMB), which facilitates labor relations for railroads and airlines, has implemented five of the eight recommendations GAO made in its December 2013 and February 2016 reports (see table). The three remaining recommendations—on information security, information privacy, and rail grievance arbitration—are not yet fully implemented.Regarding information security, GAO...

The Department of Veterans Affairs' (VA) is taking steps to improve the timeliness of its benefit compensation appeals process, in which veterans who are dissatisfied with claims decisions by the Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) can appeal first to VBA, and then to the Board of Veterans' Appeals (the Board). VA has taken actions related to increasing staff, reforming the process, and updatin...

This is a summary of GAO's performance and financial information for fiscal year 2016.Mission: The Government Accountability Office, the audit, evaluation, and investigative arm of the Congress, exists to support the Congress in meeting its constitutional responsibilities and to help improve the performance and ensure the accountability of the federal government for the benefit of the American peo...

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) did not make cost-effective decisions consistent with leading government guidance for lease procurement and internal controls when planning for additional space in fiscal years 2008–2015. CFTC began planning for expansion in the fiscal year 2009 time frame—more than a year before the enactment of the Dodd-Frank Act in July 2010. CFTC renewed leas...

This is a summary of GAO's performance and financial information for fiscal year 2015.Mission: The Government Accountability Office, the audit, evaluation, and investigative arm of the Congress, exists to support the Congress in meeting its constitutional responsibilities and to help improve the performance and ensure the accountability of the federal government for the benefit of the American peo...

The Capital Master Plan (CMP) intended to modernize, secure, and restore the United Nations (UN) Headquarters Complex, is substantially complete. However, the project is 3 years behind schedule primarily due to unplanned security upgrades and is projected to be over budget, while the UN has removed two buildings from its scope due to lack of a feasible solution to security concerns. As of February...

This is a summary of GAO’s performance and financial information for fiscal year 2014.Mission: The Government Accountability Office, the audit, evaluation, and investigative arm of the Congress, exists to support the Congress in meeting its constitutional responsibilities and to help improve the performance and ensure the accountability of the federal government for the benefit of the American p...

Federally funded programs to expand broadband access encompass but do not specifically target small businesses. These programs—the Broadband Initiatives Program (BIP), Broadband Technologies Opportunities Program, Community Connect Grants, Connect America Fund, Rural Broadband Access Loan and Loan Guarantee Program, and Telecommunications Infrastructure Loan Program—have eligibility requiremen...