CDC employees given 2 weeks to return to headquarters following recent shooting

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has ordered its headquarters employees, many of whom have been working remotely in recent weeks following a shooting at the Atlanta campus, back to work in-person by Sept. 15. 

“Since the attack, we have made significant progress on repairs on the Roybal campus,” wrote CDC Chief Operating Officer Lynda Chapman in an Aug. 28 email to employees obtained by Government Executive. Chapman, who said it was her first week in the role, also told employees whose offices are still damaged that “alternative on-campus space will be provided.” 

The American Federation of Government Employees, which represents CDC workers, didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. Leaders of the agency’s local, however, told an Atlanta TV station that employees are fearful about returning and question the security improvements.  

“There will absolutely still be bullet holes in the windows,” said Peter Farruggia, executive board member of AFGE local 2883, in an interview with Fox 5 Atlanta. 

In response to a request for comment, the Health and Human Services Department confirmed the return-to-office date but did not address questions regarding employee anxiety and the state of building repairs. 

Some CDC employees have already returned to their Atlanta offices voluntarily or have had to because of lab work. The agency’s former acting COO, Christa Capozzola, wrote in an Aug. 15 email to staffers obtained by Government Executive that returning workers would notice an “enhanced security guard presence” for the "foreseeable future.” 

Capozzola also wrote that “there are things that will not be seen as we strengthen our security posture to protect you and our campus.” 

HHS did not immediately respond to a follow-up request for comment about why Capozzola was replaced with Chapman. 

The department on Aug. 22 terminated its union contracts with CDC, among other subcomponents, pursuant to an executive order from President Donald Trump that aims to remove collective bargaining rights for two-thirds of federal employees under the auspices of national security. 

A gunman who opposed the COVID-19 vaccine fired hundreds of bullets at CDC’s Atlanta headquarters on Aug. 8, killing a responding police officer before commiting suicide. 

The agency’s workforce has also had to contend with losing nearly a quarter of its staff through reductions in force and separation incentives, although some layoffs have been reversed, and the Aug. 27 firing of CDC Director Susan Monarez, who had only been in the position for about a month. Her removal led to the resignations of four other senior officials. 

Monarez’s attorneys said she was targeted for “refus[ing] to rubber-stamp unscientific, reckless directives and fire dedicated health experts.” The White House said that the axed director was not aligned with the president or HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. 

Deputy HHS Secretary Jim O’Neill is currently CDC’s acting director. 

Kennedy, who is known for spreading misinformation about vaccines, said during a press conference on Aug. 28 that he is now “very confident” in the political leadership at CDC. 

The same day, the secretary sent an email to CDC employees, which Government Executive obtained, in which he wrote: “Reform does not diminish your work; it strengthens it. The American people are ready to believe in this agency again if we show them that integrity, accountability and science guide every decision.”