Enhancing Workplace Flexibilities and Work-Life Programs, 36623-36628 [2014-15334]

Agencies

• Executive Office of the President

[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 124 (Friday, June 27, 2014)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 36623-36628]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-15334]



[[Page 36623]]

Vol. 79

Friday,

No. 124

June 27, 2014

Part III





The President





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Memorandum of June 23, 2014--Enhancing Workplace Flexibilities and 
Work-Life Programs


                        Presidential Documents 



Federal Register / Vol. 79 , No. 124 / Friday, June 27, 2014 / 
Presidential Documents

___________________________________________________________________

Title 3--
The President

[[Page 36625]]

                Memorandum of June 23, 2014

                
Enhancing Workplace Flexibilities and Work-Life 
                Programs

                Memorandum for the Heads of Executive Departments and 
                Agencies

                To attract, empower, and retain a talented and 
                productive workforce in the 21st century, the Federal 
                Government must continue to make progress in enabling 
                employees to balance their responsibilities at work and 
                at home. We should build on our record of leadership 
                through better education and training, expanded 
                availability of workplace flexibilities and work-life 
                programs, as appropriate, and improved tracking of 
                outcomes and accountability. In doing so, we can help 
                ensure that the Federal workforce is engaged and 
                empowered to deliver exceptional and efficient service 
                to the American public while meeting family and other 
                needs at home.

                Therefore, it is the policy of the Federal Government 
                to promote a culture in which managers and employees 
                understand the workplace flexibilities and work-life 
                programs available to them and how these measures can 
                improve agency productivity and employee engagement. 
                The Federal Government must also identify and eliminate 
                any arbitrary or unnecessary barriers or limitations to 
                the use of these flexibilities and develop new 
                strategies consistent with statute and agency mission 
                to foster a more balanced workplace.

                By the authority vested in me as President by the 
                Constitution and the laws of the United States of 
                America, and in order to support executive departments 
                and agencies (agencies) in their efforts to better 
                utilize existing and develop new workplace 
                flexibilities and work-life programs, I hereby direct 
                as follows:

                Section 1. Right to Request Work Schedule 
                Flexibilities. (a) Agencies shall make Federal 
                employees aware, on a periodic basis, that they have 
                the right to request work schedule flexibilities 
                available to them under law, pursuant to an applicable 
                collective bargaining agreement, or under agency 
                policy, without fear of retaliation or adverse 
                employment action as a consequence of making such a 
                request.

                    (b) To facilitate conversations about work schedule 
                flexibilities, each agency shall review, and if 
                necessary amend or establish, procedures within 120 
                days of the date of this memorandum. Subject to 
                collective bargaining agreements, agency procedures 
                must provide:

(i) employees an ability to request work schedule flexibilities, including 
telework, part-time employment, or job sharing;

(ii) that, upon receipt of such requests, supervisors (or their designees) 
should meet or confer directly with the requesting employee as appropriate 
to understand fully the nature and need for the requested flexibility;

(iii) that supervisors must consider the request and supporting information 
carefully and respond within 20 business days of the initial request, or 
sooner if required by agency policy; and

(iv) that the agency should remind employees on a periodic basis of the 
workplace flexibilities available to them.

                    (c) The Director of the Office of Personnel 
                Management (OPM) shall issue guidance to Chief Human 
                Capital Officers regarding the requirements set forth 
                in this section within 60 days of the date of this 
                memorandum, and shall assist agencies with 
                implementation of this section.

[[Page 36626]]

                    (d) Nothing in this section shall be construed to 
                impair or otherwise affect the discretion granted to an 
                employee's supervisor in making a decision on the 
                request for work schedule flexibilities, in accordance 
                with the agency's mission-related requirements.

                Sec. 2. Expanding Access to Workplace Flexibilities. 
                Agency heads shall ensure that the following workplace 
                flexibilities are available to the maximum extent 
                practicable, in accordance with the laws and 
                regulations governing these programs and consistent 
                with mission needs:

                    (a) part-time employment and job sharing, including 
                for temporary periods of time where appropriate;
                    (b) alternative work schedules, including assurance 
                that core hours are limited only to those hours that 
                are necessary;
                    (c) break times for nursing mothers and a private 
                space to express milk;
                    (d) telework;
                    (e) annual leave and sick leave, including the 
                advancement of leave for employee and family care 
                situations;
                    (f) sick leave for family care and bereavement;
                    (g) sick leave to care for a family member with a 
                serious health condition;
                    (h) sick leave for adoption;
                    (i) leave pursuant to the Family and Medical Leave 
                Act (FMLA), including allowing employees to take their 
                FMLA leave intermittently as allowed under the Act, 
                including for childbirth, adoption, and foster care;
                    (j) leave transfer programs, including leave banks;
                    (k) bone marrow and organ donor leave; and
                    (l) leave policies related to domestic violence, 
                sexual assault, and stalking situations.

                Sec. 3. Expanding Availability and Encouraging Use of 
                Work-Life Programs. Agency heads are encouraged to take 
                steps to increase the availability and use of the 
                following work-life programs to the maximum extent 
                practicable:

                    (a) dependent care programs, including the 
                availability of on-site child care, child care 
                subsidies, emergency child care, and elder care;
                    (b) Employee Assistance Programs, including 
                counseling, resources, and referrals;
                    (c) support for nursing mothers, including worksite 
                lactation support programs and resources; and
                    (d) worksite health and wellness programs, and 
                opportunities to utilize those resources.

                Sec. 4. Helping Agencies Encourage the Use of Workplace 
                Flexibilities and Work-Life Programs. The Director of 
                OPM (Director) shall work with agencies to:

                    (a) provide appropriate education and guidance to 
                all agency employees, including managers and 
                supervisors, on the use of workplace flexibilities and 
                work-life programs as strategic tools to assist with 
                the recruitment and retention of employees, with an 
                emphasis on furthering positive outcomes for employees 
                and the agency that result from optimizing their use;
                    (b) support agencies in their efforts to develop 
                training programs that educate employees, managers, and 
                supervisors about the resources that are available to 
                meet work-life needs;
                    (c) support agencies in promoting workplace 
                cultures in which workplace flexibilities and work-life 
                programs are a standard part of operating procedures, 
                and identify any arbitrary, unnecessary, or cultural 
                barriers limiting use;
                    (d) review the Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey 
                data related to supervisor and senior leadership 
                support for work-life, as well as use and satisfaction 
                with alternative work schedules, telework, and work-
                life programs;

[[Page 36627]]

                    (e) implement the President's Management Agenda 
                efforts in a manner that improves Senior Executive 
                Service focus on creating inclusive work environments 
                where workplace flexibilities and work-life programs 
                are used effectively;
                    (f) create, annually update, and electronically 
                publish a Workplace Flexibility Index using data from 
                the Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey, reporting 
                required by the Telework Enhancement Act of 2010, and 
                other appropriate measures of agencies' effective use 
                of workplace flexibilities;
                    (g) within 120 days from receipt of the agency 
                reports submitted pursuant to section 5 of this 
                memorandum, prepare a report to the President that 
                includes information on agency best practices with 
                regard to the use of workplace flexibilities, any 
                barriers to or limitations that may unnecessarily 
                restrict the use of existing workplace flexibilities 
                and work-life programs, recommendations for addressing 
                or eliminating such barriers or limitations, proposals 
                for future data reporting, and metrics for tracking the 
                use and cost-benefit of work-life programs; and
                    (h) review, for the purpose of identifying relevant 
                trends related to workplace flexibility issues, the 
                annual report that agencies provide to OPM under the No 
                FEAR Act, which includes the agency's analysis of 
                violations of antidiscrimination and whistleblower 
                laws, an examination of trends, causal analysis, 
                practical knowledge gained through experience, and any 
                actions planned or taken to improve programs within the 
                agency.

                Sec. 5. Agency Review of Workplace Flexibilities and 
                Work-Life Policies and Programs. Within 120 days of the 
                date of the issuance of guidance pursuant to section 
                1(c) of this memorandum, each agency shall review its 
                workplace flexibilities and work-life policies and 
                programs to assess whether they are being effectively 
                used to the maximum extent practicable and submit a 
                report to OPM that includes:

                    (a) any best practices the agency has employed to 
                create a culture and work environment that supports the 
                productive and efficient use of workplace flexibilities 
                and work-life programs; and
                    (b) any barriers to or limitations that may 
                unnecessarily restrict the use of existing workplace 
                flexibilities and work-life programs and 
                recommendations for addressing or eliminating such 
                barriers or limitations.

                Sec. 6.  General Provisions. (a) Nothing in this 
                memorandum shall be construed to impair or otherwise 
                affect:

(i) the authority granted by law or Executive Order to an agency, or the 
head thereof; or

(ii) the functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget 
relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals.

                    (b) This memorandum shall be implemented consistent 
                with applicable law and subject to the availability of 
                appropriations.
                    (c) This memorandum is not intended to, and does 
                not, create any right or benefit, substantive or 
                procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any 
                party against the United States, its departments, 
                agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or 
                agents, or any other person.

[[Page 36628]]

                    (d) The Director is hereby authorized and directed 
                to publish this memorandum in the Federal Register.
                
                
                    (Presidential Sig.)

                THE WHITE HOUSE,

                    Washington, June 23, 2014

[FR Doc. 2014-15334
Filed 6-26-14; 11:15 am]
Billing code 6325-01