US Federal Agencies Clash Over Telework Policies
An arbitrator has ordered the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to restore telework for thousands of employees, ruling that its return-to-office mandate violated collective bargaining agreements. Concurrently, the Trump administration issued new guidance clarifying how agencies must handle telework requests from employees with disabilities.
- The arbitration ruling involved the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) Council 222, which argued that the Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD) return-to-office mandate was a unilateral change to an established condition of employment for approximately 7,000 workers. Before the mandate, about 85% of these employees were on a regular telework schedule, with some teleworking up to four days a week. - The arbitrator found that HUD violated two key articles of its collective bargaining agreement: Article 18, which covers telework, and Article 49, which requires bargaining for mid-term changes. The ruling orders HUD to reinstate the telework agreements that were in place around January 20, 2025, and to compensate affected employees for additional commuting and dependent care expenses. - Federal telework policies were formally established and encouraged by the Telework Enhancement Act of 2010, which required agencies to create policies for eligible employees to work remotely. This was intended to aid in recruitment, retention, and continuity of operations during emergencies. - As of January 2025, approximately 10% of the 2.4 million civilian federal employees were fully remote, and another 40% engaged in part-time telework. This was a significant increase from pre-COVID-19 pandemic numbers when about 3% were fully remote and 19% teleworked part-time. - A 2024 report from HUD's Office of Inspector General, conducted before the mandate, found that 85% of the department's employees had approved telework agreements and 9% had remote work agreements. - The new guidance for federal employees with disabilities was jointly issued by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and the Office of Personnel Management (OPM). It stresses that agencies must conduct individualized assessments for telework requests as a reasonable accommodation, rather than issuing blanket denials. - This guidance clarifies that if multiple effective accommodations are possible, an employer can choose an alternative to telework. It also allows agencies to request medical documentation to support an employee's request for a remote work accommodation.
