H.R. 7080House118th Congress (2023-2025)In Committee

Earn Your Keep Act

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Updated January 20, 2026 at 2:17 PM UTC

The Earn Your Keep Act requires every federal executive agency to restore the telework rules that were in place on Dec. 31, 2019, within 30 days of the law’s enactment. It applies to all civil‑service employees of those agencies and makes the reinstated policy the controlling rule over any conflicting work agreements. The bill also mandates removal of any employee who refuses to follow the restored telework policy and orders a GAO study on pay and work locations of pandemic‑era teleworkers.

Key Provisions

Agencies must reinstate their Dec. 31, 2019 telework policies within 30 days of enactment.
The reinstated policy overrides any conflicting telework, collective‑bargaining, or employment provisions.
Employees who do not follow the restored telework policy will be removed from the civil service and their positions eliminated.
The Comptroller General must submit a GAO report within 60 days analyzing locality‑pay rates and geographic locations of employees who teleworked during COVID‑19.
Definitions of “Executive agency,” “locality pay,” and “telework” are provided as per existing statutes.

Legislative Activity

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1 earlier action

HouseIntro Referral Latest Action

Referred to the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability.

Oversight and Government Reform Committee

January 25, 2024

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HouseIntro Referral

Introduced in House

January 25, 2024

HouseIntro Referral

Referred to the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability.

Oversight and Government Reform Committee

January 25, 2024

Bill Text

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Introduced in HouseIssued January 25, 2024

118th CONGRESS

2d Session

H. R. 7080

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

January 25, 2024

Mr. Carl introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Oversight and Accountability

A BILL

To reinstate pre-pandemic telework policies of Executive agencies, and for other purposes.

Short title

This Act may be cited as the Earn Your Keep Act.

Reinstatement of pre-pandemic Executive agency telework policies

(a)

In general

Not later than 30 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the head of each Executive agency shall reinstate the telework policies in use by such Executive agency on December 31, 2019.

(b)

Rule of construction

Beginning on the date that the head of an Executive agency reinstates the telework policy under subsection (a), such policy shall apply in place of any other provision of a teleworking, collective bargaining, or other employment agreement of such Executive agency to the extent that such other provision conflicts with the policy so reinstated.

(c)

Removal

Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any employee of an Executive agency who does not comply with a reinstated telework policy under subsection (a) shall be removed from the civil service, and the position formerly occupied by such employee shall be eliminated.

(d)

GAO study

Not later than 60 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General shall submit a report to Congress analyzing, with respect to any employee of Executive agencies who were teleworking during the COVID–19 pandemic—

(1)

the rate of locality pay (if any) paid to such employee; and

(2)

the geographic location of the teleworking work site of the employee.

(e)

Definitions

In this section—

(1)

the term Executive agency has the meaning given such term in section 105 of title 5, United States Code;

(2)

the term locality pay means locality pay under section 5304 or 5304a of such title; and

(3)

the term telework and teleworking have the meaning given those terms in section 6501 of such title, and includes remote work.