The District government offers its employees alternative work scheduling and telework options. Depending on the agency's needs, employees at agencies with established alternative work schedule or telework programs may request the use of compressed work scheduling, flexible work scheduling, or telework. An employee's request must be approved by the employee's supervisor, the agency head, and the personnel authority, if necessary. By using one of these options, employees and agencies can benefit from increased productivity, morale, and flexibility. This issuance provides guidance on the District government's alternative work schedule and telework programs.

Compressed Work Schedule

With a compressed work schedule, an employee works more than eight hours per day and, in exchange, works fewer than 10 days per pay period. With supervisory approval, the following compressed schedules may be authorized for employees:

1. Nine-day work schedule. Employees may work five days one week and four days the next, within a single pay period, for nine days total. With this schedule, employees will work eight 9- hour shifts and one 8-hour shift during the pay period: a total of 80 hours bi-weekly.
2. Eight-day work schedule. Employees may work four days each week, within a pay period, for eight days total. With this schedule, employees will work eight 10-hour shifts: a total of 80 hours bi-weekly. 

Flexible Work Schedule

With a flexible work schedule, an employee may alter the start and end times of the tour of duty, provided the hours worked include the agency’s core hours and the schedule is approved by his or her supervisor or manager in writing. Supervisors and managers are responsible for ensuring adequate coverage for customer service purposes during the agency’s business hours. 

For example, an agency has core hours between 9:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. An employee could be approved to work 7:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., with a 30 minute lunch period. This is because the tour of duty covers the core hours of 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Alternatively, a manager may approve a tour of duty of 9:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., provided there is adequate coverage for business operations. 

Employees are limited to selecting a single tour of duty. That is, an employee may not select differing tours of duty for different days. An employee authorized to work 7:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. is required to work this same tour of duty every day. Additionally, a flexible schedule may not begin prior to 6:00 a.m., nor end after 6:00 p.m.

Telework is a workplace option that benefits employees, employers, and the public alike by lessening commuting costs for workers, reducing the need for dedicated workspace, reducing traffic congestion, and by reducing commute-related pollution. The general summary, requirements, and restrictions of routine telework include the following:  

General Summary 

Routine telework is a pre-approved, written arrangement in which an employee can perform officially assigned duties at the employee’s home address on a regular basis. Routine telework may be combined with flexible work schedules (see prior section), but may not be combined with a compressed work schedule.

When agencies offer employees telework, the option to telework must be offered on an equal basis to all employees in an administration, office or unit. However, employees are not entitled to any telework schedules.

Prior to an employee being approved for telework, the immediate supervisor must determine if the duties of the employee’s position are appropriate for telework. For instance, an employee who consistently provides face-to-face service to customers or clients likely is not a good candidate for telework.

Requirements

If on an approved telework agreement, the employee must be able to report to his or her official worksite, if requested to do so by the immediate supervisor, within a time period as prescribed by the agency. As an example, an agency may require its teleworking employees to report within two (2) hours following a request to attend a mandatory meeting, due to an emergency situation.

Employees who telework are required to respond to all emails and phone calls within a time frame as designated by the agency. For instance, a department may require that its employees respond to calls/emails within 45 minutes of receipt. 

Restrictions

An employee is ineligible to participate in telework (including Situational Telework, as discussed below) if he or she:

• Failed to receive written approval in advance from his or her supervisor/manager, the agency head, and the personnel authority, if applicable;
• Received a rating of Marginal Performer (Level 2) or lower on his or her most recent official performance evaluation; or
• Is on a Performance Improvement Plan.

Generally, agencies may schedule employees for routine telework on no more than two days per week. However, the Director of the D.C. Department of Human Resources may approve an agency head’s request to establish telework schedules that include more than two days of routine telework per week. Agencies must submit requests to DCHR via the online  Expanded Telework Notification form. Agencies should only request telework schedules that exceed two days of routine telework per week when needed to accommodate building space limitations.

Agencies may not approve employee requests for both telework and compressed work schedules. However, agencies may approve employee requests for telework and flexible  scheduling.

Telework & Alternate Work Schedule Application

An employee seeking approval to participate in an alternative work schedule or telework must submit an application in PeopleSoft using the self-service portal at ess.dc.gov > Self Service > Personal Information > DC Telework Agreement. For step-by-step instructions, please refer to the Telework Application Guide.

Submissions on an Employee’s Behalf

When necessary, supervisors may submit a telework application on an employee’s behalf. Upon submission, both the supervisor and employee will receive an email notification of the submission. For step-by-step instructions for submitting an application on an employee’s behalf, please refer to the section entitled “Reviewing and Approving Telework (for Managers)” in the Telework Application Guide . 

Employees on a compressed schedule or telework should appropriately report their time in PeopleSoft. Regardless of which work option is chosen, time entry in the system should indicate the number of compressed hours worked or show the day(s) an employee is teleworking. For instance, if an employee works a compressed schedule under a 10-hour schedule, their time entry must reflect 10 hours of “Regular Time,” on 4 days each week of the pay period. Additionally, a timesheet for an employee on routine telework should show the scheduled telework day(s) using the time reporting code (TRC) of “Telework (Routine)-ROTW.”  

When an employee has been approved for routine or situational telework, consider requiring these employees to establish and complete a work plan on a daily basis. The work plan identifies tasks, assignments, projects and initiatives that an employee has been assigned and it assists with time management.

The agency may want to: (1) include a requirement that a teleworking employee be able to report to work within a specified period of time (for instance 2 hours) following a request from manager; or (2) respond to emails or phone calls within a  certain amount of time following receipt (for instance 45 minutes).

Employees approved to telework more than 2 days a week (with the approval of the personnel authority) should not be assigned a dedicated government workspace. Instead, agencies should consider a shared workspace model for those employees. 

Employees and managers may obtain additional guidance from the following reference materials:

• Section 1211 of Chapter 12, Hours of Work, Legal Holidays and Leave
• Telework General Information Guide at DCHR intranet site
• Telework Information Center at DCHR intranet  site 

• D.C. Code § 1-612.01 et seq.
• Subtitle B of Title 6, Chapter 12 of the District of Columbia Municipal Regulation.

Employees, managers, and supervisors can obtain additional guidance relating to recording time in PeopleSoft from their agency timekeeper, Payroll Supervisor or Quality Assurance Liaison (or equivalent). Additionally, questions concerning telework can be directed to your agency Telework Coordinator (TC)/alternate TC, or Philip Mancini, the District’s Telework Coordinator by calling (202) 442-9661, or via email at  [email protected].