Home Improvements?

The Pentagon recently established a policy governing when, how and in what capacity Defense Department employees can work from home. According to an Oct. 21 memo signed by Clifford Stanley, the under secretary of defense for personnel and readiness:

It is DoD policy that telework shall be:

a. Actively promoted and implemented throughout the Department of Defense in support of the DoD commitment to workforce efficiency, emergency preparedness, and quality of life. Telework is not an entitlement, but its use can serve as an effective recruitment and retention strategy; enhance DoD efforts to employ and accommodate people with disabilities; and create cost savings by decreasing the need for office space and parking facilities, and by reducing transportation costs, including costs associated with payment of transit subsidies.

b. Authorized for the maximum number of positions to the extent that mission readiness is not jeopardized.

c. Accomplished on a regular and recurring or an ad hoc basis at an approved alternate worksite.

d. Periodically exercised to ensure its effectiveness in continuing operations in the event of a crisis or national emergency (e.g., pandemic influenza).

e. Used to help create employment and return-to-work opportunities for veterans, people with disabilities, and spouses of Service members and employees being relocated.