State Department Employment Telework Overview
Overview of the State Department Bureau of Global Talent Management's Office of Employee Relations Work-Life Division, detailing the definition of Designated Telework (DETO) for domestically assigned U.S. federal employees, the difference between Sponsored and Independent DETOs, and updated guidance on DETO policy and process. Additionally, it covers the specific considerations for DoD Spouse DETOs living off-base at a DoD installation.
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State Department State Department Bureau of Global Talent Management Office of Employee Relations Work-Life Division
DETO Recap DETO Definition: A DETO is a domestically assigned U.S. direct hire federal employee who has approval to telework their domestic assignment from an overseas location. Sponsored vs. Independent: Sponsored DETO: A DETO whose USG "sponsoring spouse" is assigned overseas and who is on their spouse's USG orders Example: A Civil Service employee at HUD is married to a member of the Department of Commerce s Foreign Commercial Service (FCS). The FCS employee is assigned to Embassy Madrid, and the HUD employee applies for a DETO agreement to telework their domestic civil service position at HUD from an alternate work site in Madrid most likely their Embassy residence. Independent DETO: A DETO who is not included on the orders of a USG sponsoring employee assigned overseas. Example: A Civil Service employee at USAID has a family member in Italy who is ill and requests permission for a DETO arrangement to telework their position from Rome to be near their family. Telework vs. Mobile Work: Overseas telework that requires a DETO agreement is distinct from mobile work, which can encompass a range of scenarios. For example, mobile work could include an employee overseas on leave who checks their work email, touches base with their supervisor, or logs into a work account to accomplish a discrete task such as clearing a document. 2
Updated State Department DETO Guidance In October of this year the State Department released updated guidance on DETO policy and process via Executive Secretary Memo. This updates the previous 2016 Exec Sec Memo. Updated tone and acknowledgement of program growth Inclusion of Defense Department Spouse DETO issue Policy development template Attachment Process Summary ICASS Annex Clearly Identified Agency DETO POCs are Essential 3
DoD Spouse DETOs When the "sponsoring spouses" of prospective DETO employees are assigned not to an embassy or consulate but to a DoD installation, there are added steps needed if the DETO employee will be living in off-base housing and if the DETO employee is not also a DoD employee themselves. For a DoD spouse DETO, a residential security and safety review needs to be completed in order to ensure that the DETO's off-base residence (and telework site) meets State Department security and safety standards. If it does not, the Regional Security Officer at the relevant embassy or consulate may require security upgrades -- and these may come with a cost. To facilitate the conduct of these residential security and safety reviews, the State Department and the Defense Department signed an interim agreement in July in which, among other things, DoD personnel will assist in carrying out these surveys. At the point in the DETO approval process when your agency has obtained its internal signatures and transmits the package to the State Department regional bureau for the next tranche of approvals, the State regional bureau will flag for the embassy or consulate that the DETO will be in off-base housing and that a security and safety review are needed before approvals can proceed. A State cable with details on this issue will soon be released to the interagency via Exec Sec memo but can also be requested at DETOpolicy@state.gov. 4
Civil Service DETO Pay DETOs are no longer able to receive their domestic locality pay because their official duty station has temporarily changed to that of the overseas telework location. This affects Civil Service and Foreign Service DETOs differently. Civil Service DETOs lose their respective domestic locality rate and there is no overseas locality pay to replace it. This is a function of federal pay regulations -- not State Department policy. That is, it is not something that can be resolved through internal changes to the State Department Foreign Affairs Manual. By contrast, State Department Foreign Service DETOs receive Overseas Comparability Pay (OCP) when teleworking a domestic assignment from overseas. OCP was granted to Foreign Service personnel only through the Section 1113 of the FY2009 Supplemental Appropriations Act and is specific to Foreign Service only. There is currently draft legislation in the State Authorization bill to address this pay disparity, and we continue to work closely with an employee advocacy group on this issue. If this legislation passes, all agencies will have 60 days to implement the pay changes for their Civil Service DETOs. 5
DETO Policy Requirement 2002 NDAA: SEC. 6202. TELECOMMUTING OPPORTUNITIES. (a) DETO Policy.-- (1) In general.--Each Federal department and agency shall establish a policy enumerating the circumstances under which employees may be permitted to temporarily perform work requirements and duties from approved overseas locations where there is a related Foreign Service assignment pursuant to an approved Domestically Employed Teleworking Overseas (DETO) agreement ] State has developed a DETO policy development template to help agencies meet this requirement. The template is not in any way mandatory and is offered as a guide only. 6
DETO Policy Development Agency DETO policies have discretion to include any or all of the eligibility and other factors below, plus any additional factors appropriate to their workforce: Sponsored vs. Independent Duration of arrangement Supervisory responsibilities Political appointees and personnel on Schedule C appts Tenured status or time in Agency service requirements Requirements for access to handling of classified material Grade Costs Full-time, part-time, job share status Notifications for Amendment or Cancellation Performance Required agency approvals DETO ineligibility factors include: Unaccompanied posts, most partially unaccompanied posts, posts on Authorized or Ordered Departure Work requirements that include a direct role in host country or post affairs 7
DETO Process: Summary 1. Employee obtains approval from supervisor. 2. In conjunction with supervisor and Human Resources Specialist/Telework Coordinator/DETO Coordinator, employee prepares draft DETO Agreement using the Interagency DETO Agreement template as a guide. This agreement template may be requested from detopolicy@state.gov. 3. Employee obtains approval from appropriate level Agency component head (such as head of a sub-agency, bureau, or division), including agreement to pay any associated costs. 4. All DETO Agreements must be reviewed and signed by the following individuals in this order: (a) The employee; (b) The supervisor; (c) The Agency component head; (d) The State Department host bureau Executive Director (for example if the DETO is in Europe then the European Bureau Executive Director) and the post Management Counselor or their designated post management official at the relevant post. 5) Once the Agency has all of the required signatures from the employing agency (a-c above), the Agency DETO coordinator or HR lead on DETO issues transmits the package to the appropriate State Department regional bureau. Employing agencies may reach out to detopolicy@state.gov for the current POC. 8
DETO Process: Summary 6) After all required signatures and documents have been obtained for the DETO Agreement, the employing Agency must apply through the NSDD-38 web application for review and process of the NSDD-38 action to Post to formally obtain Chief of Mission approval (for DETO arrangements of 365 days or more). For DETO arrangements lasting fewer than 365 days the employing Agency must request Chief of Mission approval via eCountry Clearance. 7) A DETO arrangement cannot begin until it has received all required official approvals, including all required signatures for the DETO Agreement and COM approval via NSDD-38 or eCountry Clearance, as applicable 8) When reporting for duty at the overseas location, the DETO is required to notify their supervisor/timekeeper/HR component of the effective start date of the DETO arrangement for processing the SF-50, Notification of Personnel Action, documenting the change in duty station to the overseas location. Employees are responsible for understanding the process and filling out the DETO agreement. But the prospective DETO employee does not shepherd the package through the entire approval process system this should be done by the appropriate agency HR specialist. 9
DETO Process: Chief of Mission Authority Chief of Mission Authority: Defined by U.S. law and Presidential Directive. Full responsibility for the direction, supervision, and coordination of all executive branch activities, operations, and employees. Only U.S. law or Presidential Directive can provide exceptions. Bonus Tips: COMs are responsible for more than Diplomacy. COM authority is a determination, not a choice. Location within a country, duration of the position, status of the sponsor, and more are not relevant factors when making COM authority determinations. 10
DETO Process: NSDD 38 Process NSDD 38: A Presidential Directive that lays out required processes for establishing, abolishing, or changing permanent positions under COM authority. Roles: Agencies request; COMs act on requests; Dept of State communicates requests. DETO NSDD 38 Specifics: Same process as overseas positions Limited Duration Duties of position cannot be related to the country 11
Process Best Practices Early Starts and Expectations Management (detopolicy@state.gov) ICASS Estimates Anti-Nepotism Reviews State Department DETO Agreement Template State DETO Team Review Central DETO POCs 1 2
Questions? DETOPolicy@state.gov
