A recent report from the Office of Personnel Management’s (OPM) inspector general revealed widespread violations of telework policies by federal employees during the Biden administration.
The report, released on Friday, described the situation as “rampant telework abuse” resulting from “compliance failures and weak internal oversight” within OPM under President Joe Biden’s leadership.
Inspectors reviewed various documents including badging records, timesheets, and remote work agreements for dozens of federal employees to assess adherence to telework rules.
According to OPM Acting Director Chuck Ezell, the telework and remote work policies during the previous administration were poorly managed, with oversight virtually absent.
Ezell stated, “That era of telework abuse is over,” emphasizing that under President Donald Trump’s direction, OPM has reinstated in-person work requirements for federal employees.
The report found that 58.1% of the employees sampled failed to fulfill the minimum expectations for in-office attendance as required during Biden’s administration.
Further scrutiny revealed that nearly 30% of those employees had telework agreements that had expired without renewal or update, per the New York Post.
Additionally, 21% of employees had inconsistencies or errors in their telework paperwork, while 15% did not have any approved telework agreements on file at all.
The inspector general’s review