The correspondence from the officers of American Federation of Government Employees Local 3810 to Assistant Secretary Alejandra Y. Castillo, which was obtained by FedScoop, alleges that agency leaders haven’t taken union input seriously. It seeks several actions to remedy the situation, including a memorandum of understanding on the agency’s “return-to-work” policy and mediation services to “reestablish a healthy relationship.”

If those goals aren’t met in a “reasonable timeframe,” the union “will not hesitate to file an unfair labor charge against EDA with the National Labor Relations Board,” citing support from AFGE and the AFL-CIO, with which it’s affiliated.

“We have continuously expressed that the Agency’s ‘return-to-office’ policy will result in increased turnover and seriously jeopardize the Agency’s ability to function, yet conversations on how to best address our concerns have completely stalled,” according to the letter dated May 28. 

The union further stated the agency is losing workers to other organizations that provide telework and cited a recent member survey that it said paints “a picture of an agency on the brink of collapse.” That survey, the letter said, found more than half of respondents were applying for positions outside the agency and nearly two-thirds would accept a job outside EDA.

“I don’t think this is a problem that’s specific to EDA. I think this is a governmentwide problem,” Ryan Zamarripa, the vice president of Local 3810, said of agency telework policies in an interview with FedScoop. “I think that we’re going to see a pretty decreased ability in the executive branch to carry out its duties if we continue to go against the grain on what we know is an effective way to work.”

Zamarripa, who noted he was speaking in his capacity as an officer for the local and not for the agency, said the union has received a response from Castillo that the letter was received and she plans to respond in full.

In a statement emailed to FedScoop addressing the letter, Castillo and Ben Page, EDA’s chief operating officer and deputy assistant secretary for economic development, said leadership “has strived to engage and maintain a healthy working relationship with the union and the employees it represents.”

“Throughout this period of exponential programmatic growth, EDA’s leadership team, our union, and our stakeholders have engaged in frequent, real-time dialogue about where we are, and where we are headed, including in the thoughtful planning for our required increased office attendance,” Castillo and Page wrote. “These conversations have happened both privately, as well as through frequent leadership team calls and open town halls.”

As with the private sector, pandemic-era telework policies in federal agencies and plans to bring workers back into physical offices have been the subject of occasionally contentious debate. The Biden administration has recently expanded overseas telework efforts and officials have noted benefits of preserving at least some remote work options in hearings on Capitol Hill. 

Those policies have come under fire from congressional Republicans who have questioned agency oversight of remote workers and their levels of productivity. But there have been some bipartisan efforts on telework policy, including bills aimed at establishing transparency and management practices for remote positions and promoting better data collection to provide insights about telework performance. 

The EDA focuses on supporting economic development in regions across the country by providing funding and resources to communities. According to Zamarripa, the union represents roughly 70 EDA workers in roles throughout the United States. Over the past few years, those workers have rolled out billions of dollars in federal initiatives such as the CARES Act, the American Rescue Plan Act, and the CHIPS and Science Act.

During the height of the pandemic, the EDA, like other agencies, was fully remote, Zamarripa said. Currently, the agency requires workers to come in two days per pay period, which is roughly once a week for most people, he said. While workers have been told there will be an increase in required in-office presence, Zamarripa said “we haven’t really received clear guidance on what the future holds.”

The union’s letter said that the EDA “is rapidly approaching a staffing level inconsistent with its current workload” and alleged mismanagement of funds and retention issues were the cause.

“This is not only due to the gross mismanagement of federal monies at the Agency leadership level that resulted in mass layoffs but also due to the Agency leadership’s inability to retain staff,” the union officers said.

Zamarripa said the layoffs mentioned in the letter were announced in September. Citing funding issues, the agency gave some workers three-month notices, told others they would be getting notices in the future, or informed workers that their contract wouldn’t be extended, he said.

Castillo and Page pushed back on the accusation of mismanagement in their statement, contending that “EDA appropriately managed the resources that were provided, leveraging term employees to address an unprecedented surge in work without leaving an unsustainable fiscal burden.” 

In addition to the memorandum of understanding and the mediation services, the union also requested that Castillo attend Labor Management Council meetings until the “quality of dialogue” is to the satisfaction of the union officers. It cited a March executive order from the Biden administration that, among other things, directed agencies to “allow employees and their union representatives to have pre-decisional involvement in workplace matters, including … discussions with management for the development of joint solutions to workplace challenges.” 

“We just want a reset,” Zamarripa said, adding it isn’t clear the information they’re relaying in meetings is getting to the assistant secretary. He said the union wants Castillo to know “what’s actually happening in these meetings and how the labor side of these conversations is perceiving them.”

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The Telework Transparency Act from Sens. Gary Peters, D-Mich., and Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, would require agencies to collect data on telework and monitor how the policies affect both agency performance and decisions on federal property. The bill, shared first with FedScoop, is intended to reveal the pros and cons of telework in the post-pandemic era. 

“Federal agencies must track and consider the impact of telework on their ability to deliver services, recruit and retain talent, and ensure office operations are cost-efficient,” Peters said in a statement. “My bipartisan bill will require agencies to gather accurate data on telework policies to provide more transparency and help ensure federal agencies are effectively carrying out their missions for the American people.” 

Referring to telework as a “remote lifestyle,” Ernst said in a statement that the practice “comes at the expense of the people federal agencies are meant to serve.” 

“For too long, Americans have been on hold while bureaucrats phone it in,” she said. “My bipartisan bill will provide full transparency into the inefficiencies of telework, so taxpayers are no longer on the hook for expensive wasted space at federal headquarters and misspent locality pay.” 

Though the Office of Personnel Management publishes a yearly report on agency telework practices, the agency said in its fiscal year 2022 report that data is more than a year old at the time of reporting and is often inaccurate and inconsistent.

Improved data collection is a major component of the legislation, which calls on agencies to use automated systems to track employees’ telework. The bill also requires OPM to set quality data standards and create and maintain a publicly available tool that shares agency telework data, using “data visualization or other data presentation techniques to support strategic executive agency workforce planning and talent management objectives.”

Agencies would also be charged with monitoring the use of federal buildings and gauging how telework impacts a variety of performance-related tasks, such as customer service, operational costs, investments in technology and recruitment and retention.

The introduction of Peters and Ernst’s legislation comes amid an increasingly concerted push across Washington, D.C., for federal workers to get back to the office. The White House has reportedly leaned on Cabinet secretaries to expedite the transition back to in-person work, while D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser continues to urge the Biden administration to force the issue. 

During a November hearing before the House Oversight Subcommittee on Government Operations and the Federal Workforce, several agency officials reported rising rates of in-person work, while also making the case for continued telework flexibility.

“Regardless of where our employees are located, they are working,” Oren “Hank” McKnelly, executive counselor at the Social Security Administration, said during the hearing. “Telework is not one size fits all.”

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Testifying before the House Oversight Subcommittee on Government Operations and the Federal Workforce, the agency officials touted increased rates of in-person work while also pushing for sustained telework flexibility to ensure continuity of services.

“Regardless of where our employees are located, they are working,” said Oren “Hank” McKnelly, executive counselor at the Social Security Administration. “Telework is not one size fits all.”

While many Democrats on the subcommittee made the case that operating under the specter of a government shutdown is an actual hindrance to agency outputs, several Republicans used their time to question whether telework compromised worker productivity. 

Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., zeroed in on increased SSA processing and response times, which McKnelly attributed in part to “historic” attrition levels during the pandemic. 

Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., meanwhile, prodded McKnelly on “unsatisfactory” services from “delinquent” SSA employees allowed to “sit on their sofas” and work from home. 

McKnelly responded that application and processing backlogs are due in part to underfunding, and the fact that SSA saw an “increase of over 8 million beneficiaries over the last 10 years. At the same time, we experienced the lowest work staffing levels at the end of FY22,” he said. “That’s a math problem.”

Other Republicans were slightly less bearish on telework among federal employees. Rep. Clay Higgins, R-La., mused that while remote work “certainly has its place” in the federal government, “as we approach the quantum era, you’re one step away from being replaced by AI.” 

Rep. Chuck Edwards, R-N.C., said he “could be convinced” on telework’s benefits but that he wants “to make the case to the American taxpayer. It’s real easy to talk hypothetically and say we’ll be able to spend less money to get people into D.C., but that really doesn’t mean a whole lot unless we can quantify that.”

Jeremy Pelter, deputy assistant secretary for administration at the Commerce Department, pointed to a decrease in transit costs — particularly with regard to subsidized public transportation benefits for Washington-area workers — as one calculable cost-saving measure. And McKnelly noted that on SSA property alone, $60 million has been saved in lease cost avoidance over the past decade, with another $35 million projected over the next four years.

“I believe the hybrid work environment does allow us to optimize space,” he said. “And in certain cases, we can redirect those savings into serving more people.” 

USAID is better equipped to serve its global mission thanks to telework, according to Kathryn Stevens, the agency’s acting chief human capital officer. The international development agency has people working across time zones in 80 countries, she said. 

At the Department of Health and Human Services, meanwhile, the time it takes to hire new staff has decreased by 22 percent over the past year, noted Bob Leavitt, the agency’s deputy assistant secretary of human resources and chief human capital officer. Remote work has also enabled the agency to boost its hiring of military spouses by 39 percent.

“Even if their family moves to another duty station, we are able to sustain and retain that employee,” Leavitt said. “That is one way we are helping save military families and also employing and working with folks across the country where the talent is.” 

Chair Pete Sessions, R-Texas, said that subcommittee staff will send a letter to the four agency representatives in the next few days, asking for additional data and information on telework policies as requested by members. The agencies must respond within 15 days. 

In closing, Sessions said he’s in agreement with ranking member Kweisi Mfume, D-Md., that “the overwhelming view of effectiveness and efficiency should be how we’re looking at what the agencies are trying to do” when it comes to telework.

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The Telework Reform Act (S. 3015), introduced Thursday, also attempts to bolster the training and monitoring of those in federal telework positions. 

“By re-thinking how the government uses remote work, we are encouraging federal agencies to hire in diverse communities across the country; instead of requiring our workforce to be centralized in Washington, D.C.,” Lankford said in a statement. “We should allow both people to serve their nation and build a career.”

Sinema added that the legislation serves as a means to cut costs and boost “career opportunities by improving federal telework for Arizonans and military spouses who rely on telework to stay employed when moving due to military orders.”

The legislation seeks to permit federal agency directors to “noncompetitively appoint” veterans or people married to armed forces members and law enforcement officers to remote work positions. 

It also introduces multiple reporting requirements for agencies with regard to telework, including annual reviews and contingent renewals of remote work pacts between employees and supervisors, as well as mandated yearly trainings on best telework practices and supervisory reporting protocols.  

Additionally, the legislation calls on agencies’ chief human capital and chief financial officers, in conjunction with the director of the Office of Management and Budget and the General Services administrator, to deliver a report to Congress one year after the bill’s enactment on expected cost savings, productivity outcomes, needed cybersecurity and IT changes, which job classifications could benefit from remote-exclusive work, and how agencies could better coordinate with the Defense Department secretary on the recruitment of spouses for telework.  

Lankford and Sinema’s bill is a pivot from previous Senate efforts to curb pandemic-era telework practices within the federal government. In May, Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., and six Republican cosponsors introduced the Stopping Home Office Work’s Unproductive Problems (SHOW UP) Act, which sought to reverse all federal agencies’ COVID-19 telework policies. And in August, Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, asked the State Department’s acting inspector general to conduct an agency-wide review of “federal agencies abusing remote work on the taxpayer’s dime.”

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Ernst on Tuesday sent letters to the inspectors general across major federal departments and agencies asking them to investigate how telework has impacted service delivery and resulted in wasted taxpayer dollars as office space at federal buildings goes unused.

On top of that, Ernst said she would like to know worksite attendance rates at each agency and if steps have been taken “to adjust bureaucrats’ location-based salaries for those who have relocated and chosen to remain out of the office.”

“Growing up on a farm, I know what working from home actually means,” Ernst said in a release. “It’s not fair to let the responsibilities of running an agency—and the country—fall on the shoulders of the hardworking public servants who are showing up while others are out golfing on the taxpayer’s dime. Frustrated Americans are being put on hold while too many federal employees are phoning it in. I’m calling out federal employees who refuse to answer the call of duty to return to work on behalf of taxpayers, veterans, seniors, and our great nation. It’s time to get back to work.”

In her letters to the IGs, Ernst references older investigations into telework at the Patent and Trademark Office — a pre-pandemic telework-friendly agency — that found widespread abuses of the system.

She also cites some viral examples of more recent abuses, like when a manager responsible for helping veterans schedule appointments at the Atlanta VA Medical Center posted a photo on social media of himself working while taking a bubble bath. Meanwhile, the wait times for veterans to get an appointment at the Atlanta medical center are some of the worst in the country, Ernst claims, and “one such veteran temporarily lost his eyesight while waiting six months for an appointment with an eye doctor at the Atlanta VA,” she wrote in her letters.

“It appears hybrid and remote working is now standard practice for the federal workforce,” she wrote. “So, it is imperative for taxpayers and those being served by federal programs that costs and outcomes are not negatively impacted by the arrangement. The examples of telework abuses cited in this letter, after all, were caught thanks to dedicated civil servants who spoke up rather than effective management by the agency or OPM.”

Ernst goes on to request the IGs provide her with answers to a dozen detailed questions on their agency’s specific telework operations.

Earlier this month, House Republican lawmakers chided federal leaders for failing to turn over materials related to telework and remote work policies that the House Oversight and Accountability Committee requested as part of a separate investigation into federal agency telework policies and their effect on agency performance.

Just prior to that, President Biden called for his Cabinet to “aggressively execute” plans for federal employees to carry out more in-office work this fall.

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House Oversight Chairman, Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., Subcommittee on Government Operations and the Federal Workforce Chairman Pete Sessions, R-Texas., and Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., renewed their initial May request to Biden administration federal agencies regarding telework and remote work.

“One of two options is currently playing out: either federal agencies are withholding information from Congress or federal agencies are not tracking telework and remote work policies as required by the law,” said Comer, Sessions, and Boebert in letters to dozens of federal agencies. 

“Both possibilities are deeply concerning. The American people show up to work every day and federal agencies should follow their example. Committee Republicans remain steadfast in our pursuit of answers and if federal agencies continue to withhold this information, we will resort to compulsory measures,” the Congressman said.

The Republican lawmakers, in the latest missive, said the Biden Administration has not provided them current data about the specific amount of telework occurring within federal agencies or across the entire federal workforce and has provided “no evidence concerning the impact of elevated telework on agency performance.” 

GOP lawmakers have sought to investigate agencies’ varying approach to telework, and in January introduced the SHOW UP Act, which was intended to compel departments to return to their pre-pandemic telework policies. That legislation was introduced by Rep. James Comer, R-TN, Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., Byron Donalds, R-Fla., and Michael Cloud, R-Texas.

Furthermore, they cite a recent Government Accountability Office (GAO) study on federal building occupancy which suggests that in some components of federal agencies the vast majority of employees are not coming to the office on a regular basis, with some agencies reporting occupancy rates as low as nine percent.

Last week, President Biden called for his Cabinet to “aggressively execute” plans for federal employees to carry out more in-office work this fall after years of working remotely.

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VA employees in the National Capital Region who telework regularly will now be required to work a minimum of five days in office per pay period beginning in the fall, Secretary Denis McDonough wrote in an email sent to all department personnel.

Previous Office of Personnel Management federalwide guidance set the baseline requirement for teleworking employees reporting to an agency office at two days per pay period.

McDonough wasn’t specific about when the change would take place but said: “This will be implemented by early fall, with the specific effective date to be announced within the next several weeks, based on our coordination with other federal agencies.”

“This change will allow us to spend more time in the office together, learning from one another and strengthening our culture while preserving flexibility, something on which VA has always led – and will continue to lead,” he added.

President Biden in April signed a bipartisan resolution ending the national emergency related to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Office of Management and Budget in short order issued a memo calling on agencies to update workplace plans and “substantially increase meaningful in-person work at Federal offices.”

“With the national Public Health Emergency now ended, we can return to the office more regularly to work together in person rather than virtually,” McDonough wrote in his email Wednesday.

He said he spent recent weeks speaking to personnel across the VA about the change. “I heard many concerns, and I acknowledge those concerns,” he said. “However, I believe that the benefits of having more time in the company of our colleagues outweigh the costs.”

For VA employees outside of the Washington, D.C., metro area, this new requirement doesn’t apply, “though we will continue reviewing our workplace posture in all locations,” McDonough said. And for employees who are members of a union, the secretary said supervisors shouldn’t begin conversations with those members “until VA fulfills its collective bargaining obligations.”

“I understand this change will be difficult, as the change to telework was very difficult in 2020. Working together we will again lead the federal workforce as we address this new challenge,” McDonough wrote in closing.

The move comes also as Republican lawmakers in both chambers have taken action recently to question agencies’ teleworking plans and force federal employees back into offices.

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The Workplace Innovation Lab is open to all federal employees, who can reserve space for time periods ranging from a single hour to entire weeks. GSA will use new lab to gather feedback and data as it works to shape the future of work across federal government.

The 25,000-square-foot space is intended to serve as a prototype for the future of federal agency offices, including trial of new technology that will increase the connectivity of federal employees.

Commenting on the new lab, GSA Administrator Robin Carnahan said: “The future of the office workplace is now. We’re imagining it and building it right here in partnership with both industry innovators and our federal customers.”

She added: “This is a space where agency decision makers and their teams can experience the latest technologies, equipment, and furniture that’s designed to empower federal employees to deliver even more effectively.”

The space also features sustainable technology solutions ranging from power-over-ethernet cabling (which eliminates the need for expensive steel cabling) to solar powered light fixtures that support GSA’s drive toward net zero carbon facilities.

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Kiran Ahuja, director of the Office of Personnel Management, told House oversight lawmakers that the federal government won’t be able to compete for talent with private sector companies that are now codifying telework flexibilities after seeing success during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We’re seeing that this is the wave of the future in the private sector,” Ahuja testified before the House Oversight and Reform Government Operations Subcommittee. “The private sector is defining these positions based on if they can provide more workplace flexibility. They’re training their supervisors, they’re upgrading their IT. They’re working on all these dimensions that we want to be doing in the federal government so that we can compete with talent.”

The competition for talent is also occurring inside of government, where federal workers are jumping ship to join agencies that have greater telework options, Ahuja said.

“What we are seeing is agency-hopping, based on where employees see level of flexibility,” she said. “We don’t want agencies having to compete with each other for different employees within the federal government.”

Jason Miller, deputy director for management in the Office of Management and Budget, emphasized that telework is “particularly useful [in recruiting for] jobs that are critical skills: cybersecurity, IT, data analytics — some of those areas where some of this work can be performed in a telework setting is absolutely critical.”

“It’s an area where we have a gap today consistent with those sectors, with those workers across the country including the private sector. That’s a major tool for us to make sure that we’re filling that gap and addressing it going forward. And it’s an expectation, particularly for those in early career.”

Ahuja believes telework comes with a number of benefits — like enhanced productivity, engagement, morale and continuity of operations, and the possibility to recruit a more diverse and inclusive workforce from across the nation — and said OPM plans to provide agencies with “additional resources to chart a path forward.”

However, several lawmakers, mostly on the Republican side, didn’t buy into Ahuja’s thoughts on telework and asked for data to prove its benefits, urging that federal employees are more productive when working in person and need to return to normal, pre-COVID office levels, as President Biden suggested would be the case in his March State of the Union remarks.

“The president said in his State of the Union that federal workers were going to return back to work, and that has not been the case,” said Rep. Jody Hice, R-Ga. “In fact, telework and remote work have expanded, and that’s a bit concerning to me.”

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The move brings the total number of charges brought against the agency to 29, and comes amid calls from staff for management at the agency to bargain with union representatives over the return of employees to the office.

News of the additional charges come after FedScoop earlier this month reported on tensions that have flared as OPM staff raised concerns over its failure to implement departmentwide file-sharing technology.

At the time, agency sources speaking to FedScoop said the inability of certain staff to access casework files digitally had increased pressure from management to return to in-person work before federal facilities were ready to be reopened and before a union bargaining process was complete.

The 14 complaints are understood to be almost identical, but name multiple managers because of a lack of clarity over which OPM managers are leading the bargaining process with the union. They have been filed with the Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA), which administers the labor-management relations program for 2.1 million non-postal federal employees worldwide.

OPM Director Kiran Ahuja sent an email to staff saying employees would return to in-person work on April 25. However, union leaders say this partial end to telework was imposed without the required negotiation and that the agency’s facilities were not ready to accommodate staff.

Leaders of AFGE’s Local 32, which represents OPM employees, say the agency must address workplace and logistical issues before any return to physical worksites. According to the union, these include a lack of running water in parts of the agency’s building, no food for employees, inadequate parking, no plans for social distancing, and a lack of available workstations.

President Biden in August last year nominated specialist labor attorney Kurt Rumsfield as general counsel at the FLRA, however, he has yet to be confirmed in the post. Federal labor relations experts say this could slow down the resolution of the claims filed against OPM by AFGE.

OPM declined to comment.

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