Bean Introduces Family Work Flex Act

PUBLISHED: June 11, 2009

WASHINGTON - To encourage employers to provide home office options, Congresswoman Melissa Bean introduced the Family Work Flexibility Act today to provide incentives to companies that invest in telecommuting equipment.  Working from home reduces harmful carbon emissions, helps businesses save money in office and efficiency costs, and strengthens families by eliminating travel time, allowing them to spend more time with their children.

"As a working parent, I understand the challenges of balancing work and family responsibilities," Bean said.  "This family friendly bill will enable more employees to put their skills to work at home, providing them the flexibility they need to care for their families. Just as important, a worker who telecommutes just one day per week takes 3.5 tons of carbon dioxide emissions out of the atmosphere every year. Encouraging telecommuting will help our families, our businesses and our planet."

The Family Work Flexibility Act provides employers a $500 tax credit per employee for any equipment purchased to facilitate telecommuting, capped at $50,000 per company. Each eligible employee must telecommute at least 20 hours per week. The credit would incentivize businesses to allow telecommuting, which saves money in the long run through decreased operational costs and better productivity, but costs an average of $5,500 per employee in setup costs.

The bill is cosponsored by Reps. André Carson  (IN-07), Jim Himes (CT-04), Steve Israel (NY-02), Ciro Rodriguez (TX-23), Tim Ryan (OH-17), and Carol Shea-Porter (NH-01).