S 27119th CongressIn Committee

Federal Employee Return to Work Act

Introduced: Jan 7, 2025

Standard Summary

Comprehensive overview in 1-2 paragraphs

Federal Employee Return to Work Act would restrict certain telework employees from upcoming automatic pay increases. Specifically, employees who telework at least one day per week (or at least 20% under an alternative work schedule) would be designated as “covered employees” and would be barred from annual adjustments to pay schedules under 5 U.S.C. 5303 and from locality-based adjustments under 5 U.S.C. 5304. Their starting pay would be set at the Rest of the U.S. locality rate at the time they become covered, and that pay would not be adjusted in the future through these pay-scale increases. The bill also provides carve-outs for several categories (e.g., Foreign Service, federal law enforcement, active-duty military, certain disabled employees receiving accommodations, and employees whose official worksite locality is not described under 5 CFR 531.605(a)(1)). The act would take effect on the first day of the first full fiscal year after enactment.

Key Points

1Covered employee definition: an employee who teleworks at least 1 day per week (or at least 20% under an alternative work schedule). Exclusions apply to certain groups (see below).
2Prohibition on annual pay-scale adjustments: No covered employee may receive annual adjustments under 5 U.S.C. 5303.
3Pay setting for covered employees: Initial pay is the basic pay rate for the applicable grade/step in the Rest of U.S. locality, as of when the employee becomes covered; pay shall not be adjusted under 5 U.S.C. 5304 (locality pay adjustments).
4Exclusions: The act excludes (i) employees who are disabled and receive reasonable accommodations, (ii) Foreign Service, (iii) federal law enforcement, (iv) active-duty military, and (v) any employee whose official worksite locality is not described in 5 CFR 531.605(a)(1) (or equivalent regulations).
5Effective date: The act takes effect on the first day of the first full fiscal year after enactment.

Impact Areas

Primary affected group/area: Federal employees who telework at least one day per week (and who are not among the excluded categories). Agencies’ payroll and human resources processes would implement a one-time pay determination at the point they become covered and then freeze future annual and locality-based adjustments for those employees.Secondary group/area affected: Non-covered teleworkers and non-teleworking federal employees maintain existing pay-adjustment rules; potential disparities could arise between covered and non-covered employees.Additional impacts:- Budgetary/financial: Potential reduction in future pay increases for covered employees, which could reduce federal payroll costs for those employees compared with existing pay-adjustment practices.- Recruitment and retention: Could affect attitudes toward telework, morale, and retention among teleworkers, particularly if benefits and raises are frozen compared with non-teleworking staff.- Administrative implementation: Agencies would need to determine who qualifies as a covered employee, apply the Rest of U.S. locality rate at the time of coverage, and ensure no subsequent 5303/5304 adjustments apply to these staff.

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