Government Agency Under Scrutiny for Telework Abuse

The federal office that stripped the Washington Redskins’ trademark has lost control of its “teleworkers,” who are reportedly gaming the system on the taxpayers’ dime, according to recent reports.

The Washington Post reported that “generous agreements” with three unions at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office have undermined the agency’s productivity and credibility.

This week, the House Judiciary Committee and the Oversight and Government Reform Committee heard testimony exposing abuses of the program that enables employees to work from remote locations.

Used by an estimated 5,000 employees at the Patent and Trademark Office, the system lacks accountability, according to the Commerce Department’s inspector general.

Todd Zinser said his office’s findings suggest “time and attendance abuse is tolerated at USPTO.”

“Supervisors are not provided sufficient tools for ensuring that their employees are actually working the hours claimed,” Zinser testified.

“Further, USPTO senior management has essentially prohibited supervisors and employee relations personnel from obtaining building and computer records to follow up on employees suspected of misrepresenting time worked on their timesheets.”

As a result, Zinser said, Patent and Trademark Office examiners can earn pay for time they didn’t work and receive performance bonuses they didn’t deserve. He didn’t provide figures or dollar amounts.

“Managers are prohibited, for example, from requiring employees they supervise to put a device on their computers that shows when they are working, a tool unions call an invasion of privacy,” the Post reported.

“Examiners who work from home, the majority of the workforce, have 24 hours to respond to a telephone call from their boss. There is no requirement that examiners tell their supervisors when they plan to work, as long as the work gets done,” the Post noted.

Read more at Watchdog.org.