Patent Office restores work-at-home program

Officials at the Patent and Trademark Office reached an agreement with union officials last week to continue a popular telework program that will allow more than half of the agency's patent examiners to work outside the office at least one day a week.

According to Patent Office officials, 700 of the agency's top-level examiners would be allowed to work from home once a week under the agreement reached with the Patent Office Professional Association (POPA), which represents about 3,600 Patent Office employees. Employees must be high performers and comply with agency ethics and confidentiality standards to participate in the telework program.

The agreement ends lengthy negotiations with union officials over the telework program. Last summer, a pilot version of the program expired before the agency and union could reach an agreement on how to craft a permanent version. In November POPA asked the Federal Service Impasses Panel to resolve the issue.

The Trademark work-at-home program expanded this year, allowing Trademark attorneys to spend as few as two hours in the office each week. The new "Hoteling Program," allows several attorneys to share an office and coordinate with each other for use of the space.

Telework programs have slowly become more popular in the federal workplace, aided by a provision in the fiscal 2001 Transportation Appropriations Act that required agencies to establish policies allowing eligible employees to telework.

"I am certainly delighted by this development," Patent and Trademark Office Director James Rogan said in a statement. "Congressman Frank Wolf [R-Va.], who is in the forefront of government telework, will be pleased to hear this news, as well. Our trademark work-at-home program has been a great success. I am confident that the patent program will be equally successful and enhance our well-deserved reputation for leadership in this area."

The 2001 Transportation Appropriations Act also required OPM to ensure that 25 percent of the federal workforce telework at least part of the time by April 2001. According to OPM, 35 percent of the federal workforce used telework programs as of November 2002.