Subject: Non-bargaining Unit Employees - Return to In-Person Work and Cancellation of Expanded Flexible Bands
On Monday, January 20, 2025, President Trump issued a Presidential Memorandum (PM) requiring all employees to return to work in-person full time. This message serves as your official notice that your telework agreement will be terminated effective March 4, 2025 with all employees expected to return to work in-person full time on March 5, 2025. Additionally, all expanded flexbands for non-bargaining unit employees are cancelled. Non-bargaining unit employees must follow the flexbands in agency policy (see Personnel Policy Manual S610_3). Employees must return any agency equipment taken to their telework location to their SSA office location.
The return to work in-person does not currently apply to employees under approved reasonable accommodations (RA) authorizing telework, temporary work at home by exception (WAHBE) agreements for medical reasons, or temporary compassionate assignments (TCA). In addition, employees in the Office of Hearings Operations and Office of Financial Policy and Program Integrity may remain in their current telework posture.
Any outstationed employees with an assigned SSA office location must also begin working at their assigned agency location full time as of March 5, 2025. Their telework agreements are terminated as indicated above.
The Office of Human Resources will send more on placement of employees with homestationing agreements into onsite official duty stations in the near future.
Employees may reapply for an episodic telework agreement or a TCA for temporary, short-term needs. Additionally, if your location has a space limitation issue, your supervisor will notify you to provide the next steps. As a reminder, any episodic telework is granted on a case-by-case basis and only in situations where the requested telework will benefit the agency.
We understand that this transition will require an adjustment to employee work/life arrangements. Supervisors should be liberal with the approval of leave over the next 4 weeks to accommodate the changes. We encourage employees to review the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) the agency has prepared on return to office topics. The Employee Assistance Program (EAP) is also available to you using Access Code: ssaeap or 1-877-549-9528.
Supervisors will upload a copy of this telework termination notice to employees’ e7B files.
24 comments:
Of course it went to all employees, you think they were going to take the to decipher who's bargaining unit and non-bargaining units? That's why it had a subject line: Non-Bargaining Employees.
And DOGE is cancelling a whole bunch of office leases. Gonna be a real mess...
It also exempts OHO employees entirely. Leland and his flunkies over there doing the bare minimum.
Why are OHO employees exempt from RTO?
Ask Leland. The email is quite clear though:
"In addition, employees in the Office of Hearings Operations and Office of Financial Policy and Program Integrity may remain in their current telework posture."
It's not out of the goodness of Lee's heart, that's for sure. I suspect it's because most hearing offices have nowhere near the space they need for their entire staff.
The order only relates to non-bargaining unit employees. Whether there is sufficient room for OHO staff, who are almost all AFGE or NTEU employees, is likely not a consideration at this point.
Some of us are relieved OHO is exempted as OHO get a great deal accomplished in the telework setting and has very good productivity indexes in place to support the case of telework. Further, most firms are national firms and want/need virtual hearings. Thankful the ACOSS can see from the analytics it makes sense to continue the current course.
The optimism is welcome but I second the commenter above that they're surely not doing this out of the goodness of their hearts. I imagine something is coming. On the other hand, OHO was also exempt from fork, so who knows.
Since RO’s are now realigned where do they report. Where does the out stationed go?
Like working for free from home for quite awhile as essential employees during shutdown until retroactive backpay is given back when all sides agree and continuing resolution or full budget is concluded.
That's not why. It's because they're waiting to break the CBA's and haven't yet identified enough office space. Productivity has literally nothing to do with it. Other components have the exact same productivity gains and it didn't matter.
And why does the new Office of Financial Policy and Program Integrity get to maintain telework too? This office is a merger of OFPO and OPI, the latter of which is Dudek's former anti fraud stomping grounds.
@3:38 That's a very good point. I definitely don't expect OHO to avoid the return to office mandate.
'This message serves as your official notice that your telework agreement will be terminated effective March 4, 2025 with all employees expected to return to work in-person full time on March 5, 2025"
It was wrong to send this to all employees, using this phraseology. It obviously was meant to make the reader think it applied to him or her. DOGE wants to destroy employee morale at SSA.
OHO and ALJs are not being asked to come back. DOGE sees they are far more productive with telework and ACOSS Dudek knows it would crush morale if they did not have full-time telework.
Nobody in OHO is being asked to come back. Nobody in a bargaining unit position in any part of the agency is being called back. Dudek and DOGE don't care about any of what you said. Crushing morale is part of the goal.
And what about morale for the rest of the agency? You know, the ones that work on initial dib determinations, rib, survivors, cdrs, etc.? Does their morale matter less? No. OHO will eventually be forced to RTO like everyone else. Metrics and morale are not going to be considered.
It good be good for OHO being walled off in the Fork memo and RTO but from the administration that gave us the "Crypto Reserve", I don't anticipate any empathy for the disabled. DOGE will propose the elimination of the Hearing Level and all Disability Decisions will be made at State DDS's.
The Office of Financial Policy eliminated so Dudeck can inflict some Trump retribution on his old colleagues who turned him in.
Ah, they kept episodic telework in place. The games at home will continue.
I’m happy for any component that gets to keep telework. OHO has been at least teleworking for over a decade, why tear down your colleagues and begrudge them a benefit because it was taken from you? We have to be a united force.
OHO has had telework for writers for at least 20 years, to my knowledge. First 2 days, then 3 days, talks of 4 days under Trump #45, then full time since Covid. The decision writer position is the perfect WFH job as there are strict productivity standards and the job requires zero face-to-face interaction. The job has not changed in my 15 years with SSA.
All that said, I do not expect OHO to get a pass on RTO. It is only a matter of time. I expect notice of a return date once this reorganization is finalized, if not earlier. I believe decision writers (and all federal unions) have a strong case pursuant to FLRA case law to have our contract(s) enforced vs the EO, but I'd be shocked if SSA allowed writers to keep WFH in any capacity of their own volition.
my wfh ended the after the second week of the pandemic.
My theory: non-bargaining unit employees are being brought back, while the 5-year telework deal O'Malley struck with the unions is still protecting bargaining unit employees in the meantime until it's settled in court.
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