CONGRESS has been busy lately working on a variety of bills that have a direct impact on federal employees.

The House has passed a bill, the Telework Improvement Act, that allows eligible employees to work 20 percent of a pay period from an authorized telework center or their homes.

In addition, the bill requires agencies to appoint a senior-level telework manager and incorporate teleworking into their emergency planning.

Of course, the bill also recognizes that not all positions lend themselves to telework, especially if they have direct contact with the public on a daily basis or deal with classified documents. In those cases, the 20 percent plan would not apply, and agencies are not required to offer it to those employees.

This bill also contains several reporting requirements, such as the number of employees who telework and the frequency; how many employees are eligible to participate; how the program is affecting the agency's performance; and the impact on employee recruitment and retention.

The bill was sponsored by Rep. Danny Davis, an Illinois Democrat, and has the support of federal employee unions.

The Senate has also been working on a similar bill, which has been approved at the committee level and is now awaiting action by the full Senate.

Once again, telework is enjoying full support from Congress and the administration. Yet, in the trenches, few changes have been made to improve overall telework participation. We'll see if this legislative action makes any difference.

Another interesting piece of legislation comes courtesy of Sen. Jim Webb of Virginia. It involves beefing up the Family and Medical Leave Act.

Webb has introduced legislation that would give federal employees four weeks of paid leave for the birth or adoption of a child.

Currently under the Family and Medical Leave Act, employees can elect to take up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave in that situation, but obviously, that is a long time without a paycheck.

Again, this is considered a huge benefit, and it is hoped that it will help recruit the best and brightest to the federal government work force.

As is the case with the telework bill, the House is considering its own version of this paid family leave bill.

The good thing about both of these proposals is that they will have a beneficial impact on current federal employees as well as the potential for attracting new blood to the federal work force.

I will keep an eye on these two bills and report any further progress as it happens.

Michael Kole of Spotsylvania County is a career federal employee. Write c/o Federal Feedback, The Free Lance-Star, 616 Amelia St., Fredericksburg, Va. 22401; e-mail newsroom@freelance star.com.