What categories of telework are outlined in the current HHS 990-2 Policy?
- Directed/Emergency Telework
- Scenarios where eligible employees may be directed to work from a location other than the agency worksite pursuant to an agency's Continuity of Operations Plan (COOP) or OPM regulations as applicable. These orders are not under an agency telework program and thus are not dependent upon an employee having entered a telework agreement.
- Situational/Ad Hoc Telework
- Telework arrangement that is situational or ad hoc in nature that allows an employee with an approved arrangement to request telework as needed. Situational/ad hoc telework occurs sporadically, without a regular telework schedule.
- Long-term Telework
- An arrangement that allows an employee under an approved Telework Agreement (TA) to work at an approved alternative worksite, with no expectation to report to the agency worksite on a regular or recurring basis. Approval for long-term telework arrangements are limited to military spouses accompanying the active-duty service member with a permanent change station order to an overseas assignment, employees with an approved reasonable accommodation, or Domestic Employees Teleworking Overseas (DETOs).
- Medical Telework
- An arrangement that permits employees recovering from a medical procedure or experiencing a temporary medical condition to work remotely for three to ten days up to a maximum of two weeks as needed. Medical telework is intended to provide short-term telework while the employee recovers and can perform their duties. Medical telework will require a note from the caring physician or other appropriate health practitioner. For a medical condition or recovery period with an anticipated duration exceeding this option, an alternative work arrangement (e.g., reasonable accommodations, use of the Family Medical Leave Act, etc.) should be discussed with the supervisor, as needed. For agency reporting consistency purposes, situational medical telework should be coded in the timekeeping system as #585 Situational.
If an employee believes they have a qualifying disability or qualifying medical condition, which impacts their ability to work in-person, they may request reasonable accommodation.
Who is eligible to telework?
Position eligibility for ad hoc/situational telework is determined by the essential functions of the position.
For incumbent employees to be eligible to participate, the employee must have a performance plan in place and be performing at least at the fully successful level and participation is not expected to diminish organizational performance.
Who is permitted to utilize long-term telework?
Long term telework arrangements are limited to military spouses outside the 50-mile radius of the agency’s worksite accompanying the active-duty service member with a permanent change station order to an overseas assignment, reasonable accommodation due to a disability or qualifying medical condition, or approved Domestic Employees Teleworking Overseas (DETOs).
Military spouses may utilize long-term telework, pursuant to the Military Spouse Employment Act, other appropriate hiring authorities per the OPM memorandum Guidance on Exempting Military Spouses and Foreign Service Spouses from Agency Return to Office Plans, dated February 12, 2025.
The term military spouse includes the spouse of a member of the Armed Forces on active duty or a spouse of disabled or deceased member of the Armed Forces. (See 5 U.S.C. 3330d(b)(3) and 5 U.S.C. 2108.)
Note: Per HHS, military spouses working remotely within 50 miles of an agency worksite are expected to return to the office unless covered by exceptions based on disability, qualifying medical condition, and/or other compelling reason.
For more information about DETOs, please refer to the DETO webpage.
How is locality pay for a long-term teleworker determined?
Locality pay is determined by the location of the duty station. The official worksite is generally the location of an employee’s duty station as documented at item 39 on an employee’s Standard Form (SF) 50. In the case of a long-term teleworker, the official worksite is generally the alternative worksite to which the agency and the employee agreed (e.g., the employee’s residence).
How many days a pay period can an employee telework?
Situational/ad hoc telework can occur sporadically without a regular telework schedule. Situational telework should be intermittent and not authorized as a substitute for routine or recurring telework. Routine telework days are no longer permissible, unless employees are in an exception category, such as having an approved reasonable accommodation.
What hours am I expected to work?
Work schedule and hours should be discussed with and approved by a supervisor. An employee must work all work hours and workdays of the employee’s established work schedule at the official worksite unless on approved ad-hoc telework, leave or time off. See Alternative Work Schedules for more information.
Who has the discretion to determine telework eligibility and approve telework requests?
An employee’s request for telework, may be approved as submitted, modified, or disapproved by their supervisor.
First-line supervisors are responsible for determining eligibility for ad hoc and long-term telework.
Is there a waiting period or time in grade requirement that must be met in order to telework?
There is no official waiting period in policy that must be met in order to telework; however, individual organizations may determine that establishing a waiting period in a new position (i.e. 30 days) is necessary for business reasons. Furthermore, eligibility is not tied to individual’s series or grade. Eligibility for ad hoc telework is connected to the nature of the work. Eligibility for long-term telework is connected to meeting the exemption categories.
Note that to be eligible for telework, the employee must have a performance plan in place and be performing at least at the fully successful level and participation is not expected to diminish organizational performance. For new employees, supervisors may determine whether the employee is performing successfully, based on PMAP standards and any initial work product, instead of waiting until the official rating period.
Can an ad hoc/situational telework agreement be terminated?
Yes, a telework agreement may be terminated by the supervisor or the employee at any time. Reasons for termination may include circumstances where the arrangement is no longer conducive to the business needs of the organization, the employee’s performance diminishes, or the employee no longer wants to work from the approved alternative worksite.
A telework agreement can be terminated by the supervisor under these circumstances:
- If telework diminishes employee or agency performance, even after attempts to mitigate such diminishment have been attempted.
- If an employee does not comply with the terms of the telework agreement.
- If the employee is disciplined for misconduct, receives a performance counseling memorandum and/or is on an Opportunity to Demonstrate Acceptable Performance.
Does an existing telework agreement transfer with an employee, if they take a new position?
No. Approval of a telework agreement is based on a supervisory determination of the nature of the work, and how many essential functions of the position require onsite presence. Transferring to a new position would require a new telework agreement with the new supervisor.
Is a Telework Agreement (TA) required if an employee has been approved for long-term telework as part of an approved Reasonable Accommodation (RA)?
Yes, an approved TA is required for participation in the Telework Program, including those approved through the RA process.
Can an employee telework with a dependent in the household?
Telework is not a substitute for dependent care. Employees may not telework with the intent of or for the sole purpose of meeting their dependent care responsibilities while performing official duties. While performing official duties, teleworkers are expected to arrange for dependent care just as they would if they were working at an agency worksite; however, telework may be used as part of a more flexible work arrangement.
If the employee has been officially disciplined how does this impact eligibility?
An employee is considered not eligible for telework if:
- The employee has been officially disciplined for being absent without leave for more than 5 days in any calendar year or;
- An employee has been officially disciplined for violations of subpart G of the Standards of Ethical Conduct for Employees of the Executive Branch for viewing, downloading, or exchanging pornography, including child pornography on a Federal Government computer or while performing Federal Government duties.
What rating level of diminishing performance will end the telework agreement? Is this a level 2?
For incumbent employees to be eligible to participate in a telework agreement, they must be performing at least at the fully successful level (Level 3). If performance has diminished below the fully successful level (overall Level 3) while on a telework agreement, management must work with their assigned Employee and Labor Relations Specialist to determine appropriate action which may include termination of telework.
What evidence will be required to support the performance assessment that ends a telework agreement?
The supervisor must provide written notice and documentation to the employee if a rating on any critical element is below Level 3: Achieved Expected Results.
Will Employee and Labor Relations need to concur as they do now with a performance assessment which results in the termination of a telework agreement?
Yes, coordination with the Employee and Labor Relations Office is required if there is risk of termination of a telework agreement for performance reasons. Per PMAP Policy, whenever supervisors observe employee performance that is less than the Achieved Expected Results level on any critical element, they must promptly initiate appropriate action such as counseling, increased feedback sessions, developmental opportunities, and assistance from the Employee and Labor Relations Office.
Does this guidance apply to contractors?
This guidance is intended for Federal employees. Telework eligibility for contractors is a separate determination based on agreement between the contracting supervisor, federal supervisor, and contractor.
Does this guidance apply to Fellows?
The HHS 990-2 Telework Policy applies to all Federal employees. Thus, the policy applies to Title 42 Fellows who meet the definition of a Federal Employee, per 5 U.S. Code § 2105.
Can I telework from an international location? What about Hawaii or a U.S. territory outside the continental United States?
Federal employees are prohibited from “teleworking” from an alternative location outside of the continental United States without official approval from the employee’s agency and the Department of State. Working for a Federal agency overseas is defined by the Department of State as Domestic Employees Teleworking Overseas (DETO). NIH will consider requests on a case-by-case basis. Please refer to the DETO webpage for more information. However, DETO rules do not apply to employees working from a U.S. Territory. U.S. Territories are not foreign countries, and do not fall under State Department Chief of Mission authority. Teleworking from a U.S. Territory would fall under Department and Agency telework guidance.
How should my telework hours be reflected in the time and attendance system?
Employees approved for ad-hoc telework should have their telework eligibility status noted as “Eligible for Ad-Hoc Telework” in the Integrated Time and Attendance System (ITAS). Employees must request ad-hoc telework days in ITAS and ensure that all hours of ad-hoc telework are noted on the timecard.
Employees who meet the criteria to be approved for long-term telework should have their telework eligibility status noted as “Eligible for Ad-Hoc and Regular Telework” and their timecards should reflect regular telework. This guidance is subject to change, should updated timekeeping guidance be provided.
If a long-term teleworker physically reports to the office, they will need to notify their AO/timekeeper to have their timecard updated to reflect any onsite hours.
For long-term telework employees on Maxiflex schedules, the employee must indicate on their timecard each day they are working from their approved alternative worksite.
See ITAS user guide for more information.
How should official travel days for a teleworker be reflected in ITAS?
Official travel should be noted as “none”. The telework employee is not at the telework site, rather on official travel (which is considered their temporary worksite). “None” is essentially reporting that the employee is NOT at their approved telework location and this would therefore be considered as an onsite day. See user guide for more information.
How should long-term teleworkers record their tour hours in the Integrated Time and Attendance System (ITAS), if their alternative worksite differs from the time zone of the agency worksite?
Hours should be captured based on the actual hours worked based on the time zone in which the employee is located.
Am I entitled to night differential for work required between the hours of 6 PM - 6 AM?
An employee required to work between the hours of 6 PM - 6 AM, in the time zone in which they are located, would be compensated for night differential. An employee on a flexible work schedule who chooses to work during the hours of 6 PM - 6 AM would not be entitled to night differential.
Will the agency pay for travel reimbursement?
Official travel must be approved in advance by the employee’s supervisor. Please visit NIH Travel Regulations for further questions or email the NIH Travel office.
Is a change of duty station personnel action required for long-term telework?
Yes. The approved alternative worksite (official duty station) for long-term telework employees is typically, although not always, the employee’s residence. Any long-term telework arrangement changes the official duty station - so these will all require a change in duty location action.
Should telework employees work from their home during a closure?
Yes. According to OPM’s Weather and Dismissal Guide, an employee whose home is either the alternative worksite for ad-hoc telework purposes, or considered the employee’s official worksite for long-term teleworkers, is generally not granted weather and safety leave when the employee’s parent office (i.e., the office where the employee would work but for the long-term telework arrangement) is closed, since the employee is able to safely perform work at an approved location. For long-term telework employees, the official worksite is their approved alternate worksite therefore, as long as they are able to safely perform work, they should work.