Telework
Lawsuit claims DOJ is retaliating against employees with disabilities who request telework
Many agencies have instituted policies to more strictly scrutinize telework as a reasonable accommodation for workers with disabilities since the Trump administration’s return-to-office mandate.
NTEU asks Trump administration to ease telework rules as gas prices spike
The union also called for an increase in gas reimbursement rates as the president’s war against Iran continues to disrupt the world’s oil supply.
IRS can’t fully verify in-person work compliance, IG says
The agency identified just 30 employees out of compliance with its return-to-office directive, even as investigators cited gaps in how compliance is verified.
Arbitrator orders restoration of telework at Social Security
Though the Social Security Administration couched its mass cancellation of telework for employees as a temporary one based on “operational needs,” it has never provided a time frame or criteria for the workplace flexibility’s restoration.
ICE is scrutinizing work from home permissions for its employees with disabilities, continuing trend across government
The immigration enforcement agency said there was a “dramatic surge” in telework and remote work reasonable accommodation requests after President Donald Trump ended work from home flexibility for federal employees.
GAO: Effectively ending telework increased attrition at Social Security
The government watchdog reported that the already beleaguered Social Security Administration is at risk of “losing many staff in the near term” as a result of the Trump administration’s push to excise the workplace flexibility from federal agencies.
Nearly all civilian Defense employees are back in the office, but watchdog says officials should better track telework eligibility
Employees who are still teleworking are mostly exempt from the in-person work requirement.
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Trump’s return-to-office mandate exempted feds with disabilities. Many are being ordered to work in-person anyway
Some agencies have put new conditions on granting telework as a reasonable accommodation for federal employees with disabilities.
HHS adds new conditions to telework for employees with disabilities
The Trump administration has sought to largely prevent federal employees from working remotely.
SSA is denying excepted workers’ time off and telework requests, seemingly defying shutdown guidance
Though OPM guidance states that agencies should seek to accommodate the needs of excepted workers during lapses in appropriation, employees who have fallen ill or simply can no longer afford to commute without getting paid have been labeled AWOL and threatened with discipline.
CDC ends telework for employees with disabilities, union says
Telework is a common example of a reasonable accommodation, which agencies are legally required to provide to workers with disabilities with limited exceptions.
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CDC employees given 2 weeks to return to headquarters following recent shooting
Agency officials said that security has been heightened at the CDC’s Atlanta campus.
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OPM urges ‘generous approach’ to approving religion-based telework
A memo encouraging the approval of telework arrangements for people with religious reasonable accommodation requests comes as some agencies look to crack down on disability-based telework usage.
Internal Veterans Affairs memo shows plan to scrutinize disability work from home accommodations
A department press secretary said the new policy is to ensure reasonable accommodations remain "necessary, reasonable and effective," while the American Federation of Government Employees contended it would push employees with disabilities out of the VA.
OPM recommends telework, other flexibilities for D.C.-area feds ahead of military parade
The Trump administration previously took pains to end the regular use of telework by federal workers earlier this year.
The evolution of telework in the federal government: A cautionary tale
COMMENTARY | How early telework gains during the pandemic collided with post-COVID realities inside federal agencies.
USDA HQ employees told to work remotely so office building can house soldiers in upcoming military parade
President Donald Trump has sought to prevent federal employees from working remotely.
Despite return-to-office deadline, some VA employees may still work remotely because there's not enough workspace
Veterans Health Administration employees who live within 50 miles of federal office space must begin working fully in person by May 5 if they’re not already, but agency officials said there’ll be leniency if there’s not enough workspace.
Some DHS employees told to send selfies to prove they are in-office as department suddenly ends remote work
Employees are not being promised a place to work, but must report to any nearby office and ask if there is space for them.
SSA cancels telework with just a weekend’s notice
Union officials said the sudden and indefinite suspension of most bargaining unit employees’ telework agreements amounts to a de facto termination, despite acting Social Security Commissioner Leland Dudek’s promise to honor labor contracts.
