B-308044, Patent and Trademark Office--High-speed Internet Access in Employees' Homes, January 10, 2007

B-308044 Jan 10, 2007 Jump To VIEW DECISION DOWNLOADS RELATED PAGES GAO CONTACTS Highlights The Acting Chief Financial Officer of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) has requested an advance decision under 31 U.S.C. 3529 on the propriety of reimbursing its employees for costs associated with maintaining high-speed internet access at employees' homes incident to the agency's telework program. View Decision B-308044, Patent and Trademark Office--High-speed Internet Access in Employees' Homes, January 10, 2007 Decision Matter of: Patent and Trademark Office—High-speed Internet Access in Employees' Homes File: B-308044 Date: January 10, 2007 DIGEST The United States Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) may reimburse employees for high-speed internet service at employees' homes incident to the agency's telework program. We recommend that PTO periodically review reimbursements to ensure that it has adequate safeguards against private misuse and is reimbursing employees for home internet service used for official purposes. DECISION The Acting Chief Financial Officer of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) has requested an advance decision under 31 U.S.C. sect. 3529 on the propriety of reimbursing its employees for costs associated with maintaining high-speed internet access at employees' homes incident to the agency's telework program. Letter from Barry K. Hudson, Acting Chief Financial Officer, United States Patent and Trademark Office, to Anthony H. Gamboa, General Counsel, GAO, June 15, 2006 (Hudson Letter). As we explain below, PTO may reimburse employees for high-speed internet access, but we recommend that PTO periodically review reimbursements to ensure that it has adequate safeguards against private misuse and is reimbursing employees for internet service used for official purposes. Our practice when rendering decisions is to obtain the views of the relevant federal agency to establish a factual record and to elicit the agency's legal position on the matter. GAO, Procedures and Practices for Legal Decisions and Opinions, GAO-06-1064SP (Washington, D.C.: Sept. 2006). In this regard, PTO supplied additional information, including a draft statement of policy and procedures for its proposed reimbursement program, in September 2006. Letter from James A. Toupin, General Counsel, PTO, to Thomas H. Armstrong, Assistant General Counsel for Appropriations Law, GAO, Sept. 6, 2006 (Toupin Letter), enclosing PTO Internet Service Provider Reimbursement Policy for Patents Hoteling Programs (Policy). BACKGROUND The Patent and Trademark Office is a federal agency within the Department of Commerce charged with promoting the progress of science and the useful arts by securing for limited times to inventors the exclusive right to their discoveries.[1] PTO proposes a telecommuting program that would permit its employees to telecommute up to 4 days per week from an approved designated alternative work site, typically the employee's home. Hudson Letter. The agency believes the program will improve workforce recruitment and retention, reduce traffic congestion and pollution in the metropolitan Washington, D.C., area, and realize substantial cost savings to PTO. Id.PTO expects to have 3,300 employees participating in the program by 2011. Id. PTO would require employees to maintain high-speed internet access meeting certain minimum technical requirements at their residence or other designated alternative work site. Id.As part of the telecommuting program, PTO proposes to reimburse participating employees for the costs employees incur to maintain such internet access. Id. Employees requesting reimbursement must submit copies of invoices from their internet service provider (ISP) and attest to the appropriate percentage of ISP services used for work-related purposes. Id., Toupin Letter. Employees would be eligible for only 50 or 100 percent reimbursement for ISP connection depending on the amount of monthly business use of the internet service. Toupin Letter. For example, employees requesting the full 100 percent reimbursement would attest to the following: –I hereby certify that my Internet service connection for which I am requesting reimbursement has been used solely for official USPTO purposes (including 'limited personal use' allowed by the USPTO's 'Rules of the Road').— Policy at para. 1. Alternatively, employees could sign the following certification for 50 percent reimbursement: –I hereby certify that my Internet service connection for which I am requesting reimbursement has been used in part for official USPTO purposes. Personal use was less than 50% of the total usage.— Id. The program would only reimburse the basic rate for ISP connection services per billing period. See Policy at para.12.