The House Oversight Committee is launching an investigation into how often government employees engage in union activities during work hours, the Washington Examiner reported.
Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., along with Oversight Subcommittee on Government Operations and the Federal Workforce Chairman Pete Sessions, R-Texas, and Rep. Scott Perry, R-Pa., sent letters to 23 federal agencies on Wednesday.
They requested documents and information concerning employees performing union duties during official work hours.
The agencies targeted include all 15 executive departments, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Social Security Administration, NASA, the Small Business Administration, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the National Science Foundation, the Agency for International Development, and the General Services Administration.
Republicans highlighted reports of extensive misuse of official time by certain federal employees for collective bargaining. They specifically raised concerns about workers who spend all their working hours on union activities, warning that this "100 percent official time" usage could harm job performance and lead to skill deterioration.
"Taxpayers deserve to know when their dollars are funding union activities and whether federal workers are abusing their time on the job," Comer said in a statement. He emphasized the need for government agencies to be more "transparent with Congress" and the public regarding federal employees' use of official time for union activities.
"This risk exists for any employees whose union activities regularly separate them from performing their actual job functions," they wrote, noting that overuse of official time could affect agency operations, efficiency, and customer service.
The GOP leaders also pointed to what they called the Biden administration's lack of transparency regarding official time use. They highlighted the Office of Personnel Management's (OPM) deletion of time reports, which the OPM attributed to clerical errors and the permanent removal of online disclosures of official time use data.
"In other words, OPM has not posted any official time reports since the Biden Administration began," the letter stated. The committee is asking for all agencies to provide the requested information by June 20, including the total number of employees using 100% official time during fiscal years 2021, 2022, and 2023, their salaries, and the aggregate costs associated with official time.
This investigation is part of a broader effort by House Republicans to oversee federal employment practices, including telework and the return to in-person work following the COVID-19 pandemic.
In 2023, then-OPM Director Kiran Ahuja testified on Capitol Hill regarding in-person workforce numbers, facing criticism from Republicans for not specifying how many workers were returning to their offices.
In April, the Oversight Committee also held a hearing to
the Office of Management and Budget, accusing the agency of failing to "prioritize effective, data-driven decisions" beneficial to taxpayers.
Jim Thomas ✉
Jim Thomas is a writer based in Indiana. He holds a bachelor's degree in Political Science, a law degree from U.I.C. Law School, and has practiced law for more than 20 years.
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