On May 22, the House Oversight and Accountability Committee held an oversight hearing on the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), which oversees our nation’s largest employer – the federal government. OPM Acting Director Rob Shriver was the sole witness in the nearly 3-hour hearing. To view Shriver’s written testimony, click here. While members of the committee addressed a number of concerns, most members of Congress used their time to inquire or speak to the use of telework in the federal workforce and the potential return of Schedule F.

On the subject of telework, many members expressed concerns about unused workspace, referencing the occupancy rate of federal buildings. Shriver noted these were reasonable and valid questions that need to be studied and addressed, and pledged to engage in an ongoing dialogue with members on behalf of American taxpayers. He also referenced figures that more than 54 percent of the federal employees are in jobs that are unable to telework due to the fact the nature of their job requires them to be on the worksite.

Several members cited an April 2024 Congressional Budget Office report showing private-sector workers spend more time teleworking than federal employees. Using the most recent data (from 2022), the report shows 22 percent of federal workers usually teleworked that year, compared to 25 percent of those in the private sector.

“Less teleworking overall among federal workers than their private-sector counterparts might have slightly reduced the appeal of working for the federal government in 2022,” said the CBO. “Limited evidence indicates that U.S. workers would be willing to give up about 8?percent of their salary, on average, to work from home about half the time. Other research has found that the ability to telework increased employee retention at a large technology firm.”

Shriver fielded questions about the rate at which federal employees are terminated, to which he answered approximately 10,000 to 15,000. Shriver expressed concern about a potential return of Schedule F, saying the return of the short-lived classification of federal employees would have a “chilling effect” on current federal employees, preventing those included from expressing their opinions without fear of reprisal. FMA stands firmly against the return of Schedule F and joined a Federal-Postal Coalition letter to Congress advocating for an amendment to the House version of the Fiscal Year 2025 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that would prevent any administration from recreating Schedule F without Congressional approval. To view that letter, click here.