Many of you have seen the email Robert Budens sent around a few weeks ago. This week, management released more information on their Patents Hoteling program. Management's hoteling training video has confirmed the concerns POPA has about the USPTO's program. Some of those concerns are:
1) Employees will only get to keep their offices for three weeks. If an examiner either decides or is required to return to Carlyle, they will only be given temporary space until a permanent office becomes available. A wait for a permanent office could be for a significant time.
2) Employees will be taken off of the program if they get in trouble, such as an oral or written warning for poor performance. USPTO put hundreds of employees on oral warnings last year. These employees will be ordered to return their equipment and return to a "temporary workspace" in Carlyle after they have given up their parking pass or spot in a carpool and after changing their home arrangements to take into account a hoteling schedule. Employees may also be required to return to the office for training and meetings as long as they are given reasonable notice. In the past, the agency has argued that 24 hours is reasonable notice.
3) Under the agency's program, most of the time lost to computer problems is likely to be absorbed by the employee. The absorbed time will include the time the employee attempts to correct the problem with the help desk and will also likely include time spent bringing in and substituting equipment that is not working. The employee will be required to use annual leave if necessary to compensate for lost work time (alternatively, they could schedule more time in a hoteling office, but availability is not guaranteed). Computer failure should be a cost of doing business for the business, not for the employee.
4) Employees will pay for office supplies and then get reimbursed from the agency. Anyone who has gotten a reimbursement from the agency, knows how long that can take. Also, do not assume that you will be able to take a home office deduction on income taxes when your duty station remains at Carlyle.
If we stick together, we hope to get a better program for employees that will include better arrangements for leaving the program, whether voluntarily or not, and better protection against computer outages and failures. This is our opportunity to have a program in which employees are protected. Let's make the most of it.