General

Yes. The Telework Enhancement Act of 2010 allows for termination of a telework agreement if an employee does not comply with the terms of the written agreement, or, if the performance of the employee falls below a certain standard (usually, fully successful). In addition, the Act specifies two categories of employees who may not be deemed eligible for telework under any circumstances: an employee who "has been officially disciplined for being absent without permission for more than five days in any calendar year” and an employee who “has been officially disciplined for violations of subpart G of the Standards of Ethical Conduct of Employees of the Executive Branch for reviewing, downloading, or exchanging pornography, including child pornography, on a Federal Government computer or while performing official Federal Government duties” (5 U.S.C. 6502(a)(2)(A)(B)). Generally, agencies have written policies that govern disciplinary and adverse actions, and there may be other forms of misconduct that an agency may use as a basis for terminating a telework agreement.

When deciding to terminate a telework agreement, a manager should be able to document and demonstrate that:

• The employee’s teleworking directly and negatively impacts the employee’s performance or the performance of the work group/organization.
• Continuation of telework will interfere with remediation of the standards such as the employee’s ability to attain or return to a fully successful performance level.
• The employee’s conduct violates the requirements established in the Telework Enhancement Act or agency policy and thus results in ineligibility for telework.

Also, as a general rule, a manager should provide official notice to the employee before termination of a telework agreement. The notice should follow some basic principles:

• Be in writing.
• Provide an explanation.
• Be timely.
• Include an effective date.
• Follow agency policies and procedures for denial/termination of telework requests.
• Include any appeals/grievance procedures available to the employee.
• Consult with agency employee and labor relations specialists regarding legal requirements and CBA provisions.