FCC Extends Telework Through Mid-2021

The FCC will allow staffers who can telework to continue to do so--through June 2021. 

An FCC staffer confirmed the extension. A report in Bloomberg Law cited the coronavirus pandemic and related school-opening issues for the decision to keep folks working from home. 

Despite the President's push to reopen schools, many are starting the school year with virtual classes, including those serving the Washington suburbs where many FCC staffers live.  And as with the majority of states, coronavirus cases are on the rise in Maryland, D.C. and Virginia.

FCC chairman Ajit Pai has also noted how much the FCC has been able to get done while staffers were sheltering at home.  

FCC staffers were sent home March 13 "until further notice."

The rise in teleworking is just one of the reasons the FCC and Congress are focused on funding broadband buildouts to those who do not have the option of working remotely.

John Eggerton

Contributing editor John Eggerton has been an editor and/or writer on media regulation, legislation and policy for over four decades, including covering the FCC, FTC, Congress, the major media trade associations, and the federal courts. In addition to Multichannel News and Broadcasting + Cable, his work has appeared in Radio World, TV Technology, TV Fax, This Week in Consumer Electronics, Variety and the Encyclopedia Britannica.