House majority leader calls for expanding alternative work schedules

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., has asked the Office of Personnel Management to tell him by Aug. 31 what it would take for federal agencies to move to a four-day, 40-hour week schedule by the end of fiscal 2008, a move he said would decrease traffic congestion and gas consumption.

"Adopting a compressed work week would take approximately 20 percent of federal employees off the roads on any given weekday, generating significant cost savings for the American taxpayer without a drop in productivity or decrease in service," Hoyer wrote in an Aug. 4 letter to then-OPM Director Linda Springer. "State and local governments across the nation, including New Mexico, Virginia and Utah, are implementing four-day workweeks to conserve energy, reduce fuel consumption and alleviate congestion."

Hoyer also said his proposal could save government money by reducing the amount of air conditioning and electricity needed in federal office buildings.

The Maryland lawmaker, whose district is home to many federal employees, said he had not heard back from OPM, though that delay could be due to the agency's leadership transition. Springer left OPM on Aug. 13, and Michael Hager, President Bush's nominee to replace her, has not been confirmed yet.

OPM spokesman Mike Orenstein said the agency had received Hoyer's letter and would provide the majority leader with a response within his time frame. Orenstein said OPM supports discretionary use of alternative work schedules.

Alternative work schedules long have been a priority of federal unions, which have negotiated them in collective bargaining agreements, arguing they would boost recruitment and retention. OPM offers a guide to negotiating flexible work schedules on its Web site, noting that "many management officials are finding that the use of flexible and compressed work schedules can help resolve a number of personnel problems," like caregiving.

Agencies also have turned more often to telework programs during the past few years. But Hoyer's request could produce a substantial expansion of alternative work schedules, and union leaders praised him for it.

Colleen Kelley, president of the National Treasury Employees Union, said more flexible work schedules would be a strong bargaining chip as the federal government sought to recruit employees.

"The business of the federal government is no longer conducted on a strictly 9-to-5 basis and these options increase agency flexibility to respond to emerging issues," she said.

Richard N. Brown, president of the National Federation of Federal Employees, welcomed Hoyer's request and urged him to investigate other alternative work schedules. But Brown also noted that telework is not suitable for everyone. "A four-day work week is not appropriate in all cases, and shouldn't be treated as such," he said.

Matt Biggs, the legislative director for the International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers, said he hoped OPM would move quickly on the issue, adding, "This only makes sense when you consider that working people are unable to keep up with ever-increasing prices of gasoline."