September 2, 2008 - FederalNewsRadio recently reported that Rep. Frank Wolf (R.-Va.) was unhappy about complaints he got concerning teleworking at the Department of Veterans Affairs. Now, Wolf is even more upset about the official response he's received from the VA.

Wolf, one of the biggest champions of telework on Capitol Hill, says, "They don't get it, they just don't get it, and I don't understand what the problem is."

The Northern Virginia Republican is disappointed by the response he's received from Gordon Mansfield, Deputy Secretary for Veterans Affairs. The two spoke just days after Wolf wrote the VA regarding complaints he's received from staff lawyers working for the VA's Board of Veterans Appeals.

In late July, Wolf told Federal News Radio about an additional work requirement imposed on lawyers participating in the VA's Flexiplace program by the head of the BVA.

    And what they said was, if they telework, they had to add about 140 hours a year to their work schedule, which is kind of crazy because people who telework are very, very productive.

One week after he voiced his concerns, Wolf spoke on the telephone with VA Deputy Secretary Mansfield, who explained that the decision to add 140 hours of work, which the BVA says is equal to requiring the lawyers to handle 14 extra cases per year, was set by the BVA's Flexiplace Oversight Group (FOG).

Mansfield says the FOG is made up of, "supervisory judges, union representatives, the BVA flexible workplace coordinator, and the BVA Principal Deputy Vice Chairman."

Congressman Wolf gave FederalNewsRadio a copy of Mansfield's reply explaining FOG's telework policy:

    The FOG determined a standard of an additional 14 cases per year above the minimally acceptable office standard was appropriate for teleworking employees as they do not perform specific duties required of office attorneys. For example, the BVA has a strong mentoring program, and its office attorneys are required to work closely with new attorneys under this program. The 14 additional cases are, in effect, a balance between telework and office dutied, which cannot be performed by teleworkers. Approximately 65 attorneys currently participate in the BVA telework program, and to date, none has been dropped from the program for failing to meet the telework standards.

But Wolf says he's not satisfied with a response that violates the spirit, if not the letter, of telework law.

    Well, he pretty much said that they're going to continue doing what they're doing, and his reply was insufficient, almost inaccurate. They're looking at telework as some sort of benefit, or incentive. Telework is very positive, in terms of the productivity, with regards to energy and the environment, with regards to everything. VA has one of the worst records in the government when it comes to telework, so what we're doing is, we're going to ask the IG for an investigation.

Even more disturbing, says Congressman Wolf, are hints of retaliation against the BVA whistleblowers:

    There has been some inference that there are some people at the VA looking to find out who has been contacting me. We're not sure complete, but we're going to find out. That would be totally inappropriate, that would be wrong. Because anybody has the right to contact their congressman, to tell us what the problem is. We want to make sure that nobody has been punished or will be punished for contacting their member of Congress.

In addition to requesting an investigation by the Va's Inspector General, Wolf says he may also bring the VA's BVA telework situation to the attention of California Democrat Bob Filner, Chairman of the House Veterans Affairs Committee.

FederalNewsRadio has reached out to the Department of Veterans Affairs for an interview regarding the telework issue, but has yet to hear from the agency.