# Plain Language Summary: Return to Work Act

This bill would require federal government agencies to go back to the remote work policies they had in place before the pandemic hit on December 31, 2019. Essentially, it's telling agencies like the Department of State, the EPA, the IRS, and other federal departments that they need to undo any changes they've made to work-from-home rules since then and return to how things were done nearly four years earlier.

The bill gives agencies 60 days to make this change after it becomes law. Once they do, the old 2019 policies would take over and override any newer remote work agreements or rules that agencies have put in place. This means if an agency negotiated new telework terms with its employees or unions after 2019—perhaps allowing more flexibility or more days working from home—those newer agreements would be replaced by whatever the rules were at the end of 2019.

The practical impact would be on federal employees who have been working remotely or with flexible schedules since the pandemic. Depending on their agency, this could mean being required to return to the office more often than they currently do, or potentially having fewer remote work options than they've grown accustomed to. For the public, this could affect how quickly federal services are delivered and the overall efficiency of government operations, though those effects would likely vary by agency. The bill essentially freezes federal telework policy at a pre-pandemic snapshot, preventing agencies from adapting their work arrangements based on what they've learned over the past few years.

Return to Work Act

Biggs, Andy

Return to Work Act This bill requires the head of each executive agency to reinstate the telework policies in use by that agency on December 31, 2019.