Archives workers granted telework ahead of D.C. IndyCar race

Officials at the National Archives and Records Administration announced Tuesday that employees stationed at its headquarters building in downtown Washington may telework for the rest of the week due to nearby construction associated with this weekend’s IndyCar race in response to safety concerns from its union.

Archives I, referred to colloquially as A1, is located inside and bound on three sides by the planned race route. Employees said that beginning this week, getting to the office has required navigating road closures, active construction around the building and a temporary pedestrian bridge over Pennsylvania Avenue NW, which itself is partially blocked by the branches of a neighboring tree as well as a fence.

Officials with the American Federation of Government Employees Council 260, which represents NARA workers, told Government Executive that they had been raising concerns about the potential for disruptions caused by the event since at least June. It was only after the union sent an email demanding management address “unsafe working conditions” around the building Tuesday that the agency informed employees—though not AFGE—that it would approve telework.

“NARA is authorizing situational telework, to the extent possible, through August 23, for employees whose duty station is Washington, D.C.,” the agency wrote in an email to employees. “Employees should coordinate with their supervisor to consider other workplace flexibilities such as maxiflex, and/or unscheduled leave. Schedule changes should be approved by your supervisor. Employees who must report onsite should plan for additional travel time and remain alert to road closures, pedestrian restrictions and transit service adjustments.”

In a separate message to the union, agency management said that while it had been in regular contact with both the U.S. Secret Service and IndyCar parent company Penske, it bemoaned a “fluid” situation “with circumstances constantly changing.”

But union officials said offering telework through Friday is not enough to protect employees, particularly those with disabilities. In an email to management Tuesday urging the authorization of telework, they described the difficulty that an employee “with mobility issues” had accessing the building on Monday, something they said would recur next week, as race organizers begin breaking down the temporary barricades and pedestrian bridge.

“Once they found [an ADA accessible] entrance, they were not able to use it because there was no one there to operate the lift,” the union wrote. “The employee then had to find the pedestrian bridge, which is not ADA accessible, and put their health and safety at risk by climbing the stairs. Since the bridge that employees were instructed to use was built against a tree with limbs at rail height . . . they were instructed to crawl under the limb, at additional risk to their health and safety as an employee with disabilities. This situation is obviously unacceptable.”

A photo taken Wednesday morning documented that workers had since cut the tree branch, though a fence continues to at least partially block the pedestrian bridge’s entrance.

The union also said the agency’s expectation that employees familiarize themselves with a newly modified building evacuation plan is similarly insufficient to ensure employees’ safety.

“The agency is obligated to ensure a safe working environment,” AFGE officials wrote in a follow-up email Tuesday. “The union expects that managers and supervisors will review the plans with their employees to ensure that everyone is aware of emergency egress routes. Since everything has been so fluid, those plans have not covered the situation on the ground so far this week, which is why we have requested that the agency station one or more facilities or security employees at the staff exit to help with way-finding.”

As of press time, union officials said the agency had not responded to its request to extend telework into next week. The agency did not respond to requests for comment.