Congresswoman Norton Urges OPM to “extend paid leave for teleworking federal employees to allow them to care for family members during the coronavirus pandemic.”

Photo by PoPville flickr user Shamila Chaudhary

From Congresswoman Norton’s office:

“Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) today sent a letter to the Office of Management and Budget and the Office of Personnel Management urging them to extend paid leave for teleworking federal employees to allow them to care for family members during the coronavirus pandemic. The letter asks for teleworking employees to have up to 15 hours per week to care for family members, such as children whose schools are closed.

“As federal employees care for children who must be kept home from school during this unprecedented pandemic, it is important that these teleworking employees are given time to care for their family members,” Norton said. “Allowing these employees an extra 15 hours of leave per week will help ensure that these federal employees are able to continue their vital work while caring for their families.”

The letter follows:

March 19, 2020

Russ Vought
Acting Director
Office of Management and Budget
725 17th Street NW
Washington, D.C. 20503

Michael Rigas
Acting Director
Office of Personnel Management
1900 E Street NW
Washington, D.C. 20503

Acting Directors Vought and Rigas:

As you well know, the current problems caused by the coronavirus are affecting every single American, including federal employees. Countless federal employees are teleworking to attempt to stay safe from the virus, and also to care for their family members, including children who are forced to stay home from school and daycare. We understand that because of the time these federal employees must spend on caring for family members, these teleworking federal employees are having to use their leave time, go without pay, or telework longer hours in the early morning or late evening to make up for the lost hours they spend caring for their families. This has put an unsustainable burden on numerous families. We therefore write to encourage you to allow teleworking employees who are also caring for family members to have up to 15 hours of administrative or other designated paid leave per week to care for their family members. This would still require federal employees to work five hours per day, providing vital federal services, while allowing them to manage their family care duties.

We believe this measure would provide great relief for federal employees who have no other option during these unprecedented times.

Sincerely,

Eleanor Holmes Norton”