Washington, D.C. - U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Director Kay Coles James today announced contractual partnerships with two telework centers in the Washington metropolitan area - Bowie State University Telework Center and Fairfax Telework Center. Both centers have been included in OPM's plans to support the federal workforce in an emergency.

"These partnerships reinforce our continuing emergency preparedness efforts for OPM and its role in support of other federal agencies," James stated. "These telework centers are available to federal employees, and OPM strongly encourages federal agencies to take advantage of these important resources."

Both facilities are located in the suburban Washington, D.C. area - Bowie State University is located in Prince Georges County, Maryland, and the Fairfax Telework Center is located in Fairfax County, Virginia. The centers provide an alternative workspace for government workers who live in the surrounding areas and who typically commute long distances to work. Director James referred to the two centers' operations as a "model for other federal agencies" as they plan for additional telework capacity and as they fine-tune their own emergency planning efforts.

The telework centers offer federal employees twenty-four hour per day access to the latest equipment to complete a remote office, including ten stations at each of the two telework centers. Both centers also have the capacity to host or participate in teleconferencing worldwide.

Director James has repeatedly pointed out that telework is an important flexibility that has taken on new significance since 9-11. Federal agencies and managers must embrace telework as one solution to the practical needs of employees and the critical requirements of their organizations in the event of an emergency.

The partnerships are the latest efforts in showcasing telework as a viable resource for the federal workforce. Recently, OPM conducted two special training sessions for federal agencies on how best to implement telework, and conducted a webinar, an Internet-based seminar, where agencies heard from a nationally-recognized telework consultant as well as a panel of managers who shared their views of telework and ways it can be implemented.