MEMORANDUM

TO:
Solicitor
Assistant Secretaries
Inspector General
Heads of Bureaus and Offices

FROM:
John Berry
Assistant Secretary for Policy, Management & Budget

SUBJECT: Telecommuting

As all of you know, I strongly support programs within the Department of the Interior that increase the quality of our employees' work life by helping them balance the demands of their careers with the demands of their personal lives. One such program is the Federal Flexible Workplace Project (commonly known as Telecommuting). Telecommuting allows employees to fulfill their job responsibilities at a site other than their principal office one or more days of the week. Telecommuting was established to also improve the Government's ability to abate pollution and traffic congestion, recruit and retain capable employees, and reduce Federal operating costs.

After the government-wide telecommuting pilot project in 1990, authority to use telecommuting was delegated to all the bureaus. A recent informal survey shows, however, that telecommuting has only minor use throughout the Department. In response to President Clinton's directive to agency heads to support the expansion of family-friendly work arrangements, including greater use of telecommuting, we need to increase our use of telecommuting in appropriate situations throughout the Department.

The National Telecommuting Initiative was endorsed by the President's Management Council in January 1996. The Initiative calls for a significant increase in the number of federal employees who telecommute over the next few years. In order to gauge the Department's level of participation in this program, we will be requesting periodic reports of each bureau's use of, and experience with, telecommuting.

There is a wealth of information from both the private and public sector that indicates the benefits of telecommuting to both employees and employers. According to evaluation reports by the GSA, the overwhelming majority of employees and supervisors judged telecommuting arrangements to be a desirable workplace option.

The Department has adopted the extensive telecommuting guidelines developed by the Office of Personnel Management. These guidelines may be found on OPM's web page at www.opm.gov/wrkfam/telecomm/telecomm.htm. We encourage bureaus without a telecommuting program to carefully review these guidelines and evaluate which employees and positions would be compatible with telecommuting.

A list of interagency telecenters is attached. These centers offer the latest technology as well as on-hand technical support. The GSA encourages anyone who is interested to explore this telecommuting option and to take a tour of one of the telecenters. I want you to arrange for your managers to visit one or more of these centers and give us a report of your findings. The GSA point of contact can be reached at 202-273-4660.

If you have any questions about the Department's telecommuting policy, please call Casey Schaffer, Office of Personnel Policy, on 202-208-6107.

Attachment: Interagency Telecenters

cc: Rep. Frank R. Wolf, Rep. Steny H. Hoyer

Washington, DC Metropolitan Area
Bowie, MD
California, MD
Frederick, MD
Hagerstown, MD
Laurel, MD
Prince Frederick, MD
Reisterstown, MD
Silver Spring, MD
Waldorf, MD
Fairfax, VA
Fredericksburg, VA
Herndon, VA
Manassas, VA
Sterling, VAStafford, VA
Winchester, VA

Other Telecenter Sites
Anchorage, AK
Anaheim, CA
Bishop, CA
Chula Vista, CA
Compton, CA
Diamond Bar, CA
Grass Valley, CA
Highland, CA
Irvine, CA
Lancaster, CA
Long Beach, CA
Los Angeles, CA
Los Banos, CA
Pomona, CA
San Francisco, CA
San Juan Capistrano, CA
Santa Rosa, CA
Vacaville, CA
Ranson, WV
Valencia, CA
Ventura, CA
Victorville, CA
Fayetteville, GA
Gainesville, GA
Kennesaw, GA
Lithonia, GA
Boise, ID
Chicago, IL
Downer's Grove, IL
Merrillville, IN
Cambridge, MN
Oneonta, NY
Cincinnati, OH
Portland, OR
Seattle, WA
Auburn, WA
Spokane, WA