Agencies to reveal plans on bypassing union obstacles and office dilemmas, aiming to assemble entire staff physically at workspaces
The Biden administration is scrutinising the process by which federal agencies implement new policies to bring employees back to their offices under the current administration. This review comes in the form of guidance from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and the Office of Personnel Management (OPM).
The new guidance outlines a detailed process for determining exemptions from the in-person work requirement. Employees with medical conditions that allow them to work remotely will be considered for these exemptions. Agencies will also identify any risks, barriers, or resource constraints to complying with the Trump administration's order, such as availability of office space and budgetary concerns.
Agencies have already informed their workforces of their intentions to ensure all eligible employees are working in person, following OPM's initial guidance. The plans will include a review of collective bargaining agreements (CBAs) to bring unionised employees back to their offices and a timeline for ensuring all employees are conducting in-person work as expeditiously as possible.
Acting Administrator Stephen Ehikian of the General Services Administration (GSA) has established a task force to evaluate the physical space and IT needs for the full implementation of the new policy within 30 days. The agency's telework policy has been revised to remove routine telework and remote work categories, except in qualifying or compelling circumstances.
The agency implementation plans, due on Feb. 7, will detail the steps and milestones for revising telework agreements. However, bringing remote workers more than 50 miles from a current agency office may present unique challenges.
The directive issued by the Trump administration affects approximately 2.3 million federal employees managed by the United States Office of Personnel Management, mandating their return to offices or duty stations. The goal is to ensure GSA has the most collaborative and fun work environment across all locations.
President Trump has commented that any federal worker who is not reporting to their duty station full time will be fired. Many agencies may have to rework their workspace designs to accommodate full-time in-person attendance. Agencies will also determine associated costs with finding workplaces for employees who have been working remotely on a full-time basis.
Employees working on similar functions should, where possible, work in the same spaces to promote effective collaboration and management. A plan to overcome these constraints will be included in the agency implementation plans. Only employees with disability, qualifying medical conditions, or other compelling reasons certified by the agency head are not considered covered by the directive.
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