Trump seeks to end telecommuting for federal workers: NPR

President Trump has signed an executive action ordering federal agencies to order their employees back to the office full time.

“Heads of all departments and agencies of the executive branch of government shall, as soon as possible, take all necessary steps to end telework arrangements and require employees to return to work in person at their respective duty stations on a full-time basis. , provided that the heads of departments and agencies must make exemptions that they deem necessary.” executive memo states.

Getting more federal employees to work from the office has long been a focus of Republicans.

“Service backlogs and delays, unanswered phone calls and emails, and missed appointments harm the health, lives and aspirations of Americans,” Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst wrote in a report published late last year.

In this report, Ernst claimed that only 6% of federal workers work full-time in-person, while a third work fully remotely.

Most federal workers already work full-time in person

In fact, according to the US Office of Personnel Management, a majority of federal employees already work in their offices full time.

IN a report to Congress issued last August, OPM noted that 54% of the 2.3 million civilians employed by the federal government work entirely personally given the nature of their jobs. Around 10%, or 228,000 employees, work completely remotely.

Not counting fully remote workers, telecommuting-eligible federal employees spent just over 60% of their work hours in person, according to OPM, although this varies widely across agencies.

In the final days of the Biden administration, former acting OPM Director Rob Shriver defended the federal government’s telecommuting policies, telling reporters on a press call that a one-size-fits-all approach could “dramatically affect the federal government’s ability to address the most important challenges, we face.”

Union says telecommuting is needed for recruitment and retention

Many flexible work arrangements predate the pandemic, although the federal government, like many offices, greatly expanded telecommuting during COVID.

A number of agencies, including the Environmental Protection Agency and the Social Security Administration, agreed to long-term telecommuting in their collective bargaining agreements.

The American Federation of Government Employees, which represents 800,000 federal and D.C. state employees, says it expects those agreements to be honored, as the Trump memo says the directive “must be implemented in accordance with applicable law.”

Still, in a statement, AFGE President Everett Kelley called the directive a “retarded action” and asked the Trump administration to reconsider its approach.

“Allowing eligible employees to work hybrid schedules is a key tool for recruiting and retaining workers in both the public and private sectors. Limiting the use of hybrid work schedules will make it more difficult for federal agencies to compete for top talent,” he wrote in a statement.

He also warned that given the success federal agencies have had in consolidating unused office space and selling properties that were expensive to maintain, there may no longer be enough office space to accommodate an influx of on-site employees.

Musk said the order to return to office could lead to resignation

IN an opinion piece in The Wall Street Journal Last fall, Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, whom Trump appointed to lead his Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, suggested that requiring federal employees to return to the office five days a week “would result in a wave of voluntary layoffs that We welcome you.”

“If federal employees don’t want to show up, American taxpayers shouldn’t be paying them for the Covid-era privilege of staying home,” they wrote.

Ramaswamy resigned from DOGE on Monday because he intends to run for elected office soon, according to the White House.

Trump freezes federal hiring

Trump also temporarily froze hiring at most federal agencies. He made certain exceptions, including for the military and agencies that carry out key priorities such as immigration enforcement.

He directed the Office of Management and Budget and DOGE to deliver a plan within 90 days to shrink the federal workforce “through efficiencies and attrition.”

AFGE warned that the freeze will impair federal programs.

“Make no mistake – this action is not about making the federal government run more efficiently, but rather about wreaking havoc and targeting a group of patriotic Americans that President Trump openly calls crooked and dishonest,” Kelley wrote.