Title
Authorizing the Committee on Public Property and Public Works and the Committee on Labor and Civil Service to hold joint hearings to evaluate the impact, effectiveness, experience and outcomes of remote work during the COVID-19 pandemic on the City of Philadelphia's citizens and workforce and calling on the City of Philadelphia to produce an action plan to guide future remote work of City employees.
Body
WHEREAS, Working from home, remote work, and telecommuting are defined as a work arrangement in which an employee or independent contractor completes work from a location other than their employer's primary physical premises or location. Remote work occurs primarily through email, telephone, online conference call and meeting software and other electronic tools; and
WHEREAS, US Census data released in 2018 reported that 5.2-percent of workers in the United States work entirely from home. In a 2017 Gallup Poll, 43-percent of Americans have spent at least some portion of time working remotely; and
WHEREAS, As a result of COVID-19, the number of Americans working remotely has increased dramatically. By late April, more than half of all workers, accounting for more than two-thirds of all US economic activity, reported that they are working from home. According to Stanford University economist Nicholas Bloom, only 26-percent of the U.S. labor force continues to work from their job's premises; and
WHEREAS, Without the ability to transition workforce to remote work, the COVID-19 stay at home orders could have caused the total collapse of the economy and workers would have been forced to return to work. Returning to work would have resulted in a spike in infection rates. Effectively implementing and maintaining remote work options for employees is not only essential for the economy, it is a critical element of preventing the spread of COVID-19 and future pandemics; and
WHEREAS, The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in a shift in the work locations of employees i...
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