Federal Employee Return to Work Act
Latest action · Jan 7, 2025 Referred to the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.
Progress
Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.
- IntroducedJan 7, 2025
- Passed HouseNot reached
- Passed SenateNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
Federal Employee Return to Work Act
This bill prohibits providing certain annual or locality-based pay increases to teleworking federal employees.
Currently, federal law mandates annual adjustments to General Schedule (GS) pay rates according to (1) a formula based on the annual percentage change in the Employment Cost Index (a measure of labor costs in the private sector); and (2) the difference between public and private sector pay rates in an employee's locality, if that difference exceeds 5%. For example, in 2025, the default annual rate of pay for a GS-7 (step 1) employee is $49,960; the adjusted annual rate of pay for a GS-7 (step 1) employee in the locality pay area that includes Washington, DC, is $57,164.
The bill makes executive agency employees who telework at least one day each week (or, in the case of an alternative work schedule, 20% or more each week) ineligible for these payments.
The bill is effective on the first day of the fiscal year beginning after the bill's enactment.
Cosponsors 21
Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from Jan 7, 2025 to Feb 5, 2025; 12 are original cosponsors, there from the day it was introduced.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| R-IA | Ashley Hinson | Original | Jan 7, 2025 |
| R-MN | Brad Finstad | Original | Jan 7, 2025 |
| R-TN | Charles J. "Chuck" Fleischmann | Original | Jan 7, 2025 |
| R-PA | Daniel Meuser | Original | Jan 7, 2025 |
| R-GA | Earl L. "Buddy" Carter | Original | Jan 7, 2025 |
| R-TX | Jake Ellzey | Original | Jan 7, 2025 |
| R-CO | Lauren Boebert | Original | Jan 7, 2025 |
| R-GA | Mike Collins | Original | Jan 7, 2025 |
| R-NY | Nicole Malliotakis | Original | Jan 7, 2025 |
| R-TX | Randy K. Weber, Sr. | Original | Jan 7, 2025 |
| R-SC | William R. Timmons IV | Original | Jan 7, 2025 |
| R-IA | Zachary Nunn | Original | Jan 7, 2025 |
| R-CA | Doug LaMalfa | Jan 9, 2025 | |
| R-KY | Harold Rogers | Jan 9, 2025 | |
| R-AZ | Juan Ciscomani | Jan 9, 2025 | |
| R-TX | Pat Fallon | Jan 9, 2025 | |
| R-MD | Andy Harris | Jan 15, 2025 | |
| R-NC | Richard Hudson | Jan 15, 2025 | |
| R-MI | Tom Barrett | Jan 15, 2025 | |
| R-PA | Mike Kelly | Jan 21, 2025 | |
| R-NC | Pat Harrigan | Feb 5, 2025 |
Committees 1
Where it was sent and what each committee and subcommittee did with it, in order.
| Chamber | Committee | What it did |
|---|---|---|
| House | Oversight and Government Reform Committee | Referred Jan 7, 2025 |
Actions 2
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Jan 7, 2025Introduced in House
- Jan 7, 2025Referred to the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.
Research
What has been written about this bill: committee reports, cost estimates, the sponsor’s authority statement, printed hearings and the Congressional Research Service’s work.
Constitutional authority
The sponsor’s statement, as printed in the Congressional Record, vol. 171, no. 3, January 7, 2025, page H63.
Related bills 1
Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.
| Bill | Title | Relationship | Latest action |
|---|---|---|---|
| S 27 | Federal Employee Return to Work Act | Identical bill | Jan 7, 2025 |
Titles 2
Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.
- Official Title as Introduced
- To prohibit certain telework employees from receiving certain annual adjustments to pay schedules, and for other purposes.
- Short Title(s) as Introduced
- Federal Employee Return to Work Act
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Government Operations and Politics.
Text 1
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- Jan 7, 2025Introduced in House
Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov; cost estimates are the Congressional Budget Office's, and the hearings are the printed hearings GovInfo publishes, which can appear months after the hearing.
