OPM Guidance on COVID-19

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My agency is packed today. We're all engineers who can easily telework 100% of the time. We've received no guidance except wash your hands. I'm scared and worried and want to telework. I spoke to my manager about it yesterday who reiterated that I only get one day a week. What do I have to do to be allowed to telework?! Get sick?

Well then you better take sick leave.....the answer is exposure to someone who tested positive.

Rumors are at my agency exposure isn’t enough. We won’t change anything until we have a confirmed employee diagnosis and even then it sounds like things will be case by case. Even though we have highly independent work and telework capabilities. I’m so upset with upper management right now for not taking this thing seriously beyond a couple email reminders to wash our hands!

Are you SSA? It sounds like my agency.

Yup. Glad they finally announced some expansion of telework, but silly it only applies to some select employees when we are in a unique position in that most people have work that can be done fully remote.

Can I know how you got a job there? My selfish cousins have jobs there by referring one another. They don't want to refer anyone else instead indicating they apply through USA jobs. Both have high school degrees with no prior government experience. Only one used to be army.

How terribly selfish of them to not resort to blatant nepotism. Can’t imagine why they might not have wanted to help you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My agency is packed today. We're all engineers who can easily telework 100% of the time. We've received no guidance except wash your hands. I'm scared and worried and want to telework. I spoke to my manager about it yesterday who reiterated that I only get one day a week. What do I have to do to be allowed to telework?! Get sick?

Well then you better take sick leave.....the answer is exposure to someone who tested positive.

Rumors are at my agency exposure isn’t enough. We won’t change anything until we have a confirmed employee diagnosis and even then it sounds like things will be case by case. Even though we have highly independent work and telework capabilities. I’m so upset with upper management right now for not taking this thing seriously beyond a couple email reminders to wash our hands!

Are you SSA? It sounds like my agency.

Yup. Glad they finally announced some expansion of telework, but silly it only applies to some select employees when we are in a unique position in that most people have work that can be done fully remote.

We only hire through USA Jobs now. Has been that way for nearly 10 years. I’m an attorney, which is excepted service, and somewhat different from the competitive service. But there is no way in recent history that anyone is getting hired by the fed gov through referrals.
Can I know how you got a job there? My selfish cousins have jobs there by referring one another. They don't want to refer anyone else instead indicating they apply through USA jobs. Both have high school degrees with no prior government experience. Only one used to be army.

[Anonymous]

Sorry, the above was in response to this post:

Can I know how you got a job there? My selfish cousins have jobs there by referring one another. They don't want to refer anyone else instead indicating they apply through USA jobs. Both have high school degrees with no prior government experience. Only one used to be army.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What is going to happen to us who work in agencies where telework is impossible sounds like we are just being told "oh well" and just come to work and pretend nothing is happening

yep, complete lack of leadership and planning for those agencies. Im not being sarcastic.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My agency is packed today. We're all engineers who can easily telework 100% of the time. We've received no guidance except wash your hands. I'm scared and worried and want to telework. I spoke to my manager about it yesterday who reiterated that I only get one day a week. What do I have to do to be allowed to telework?! Get sick?

Well then you better take sick leave.....the answer is exposure to someone who tested positive.

Rumors are at my agency exposure isn’t enough. We won’t change anything until we have a confirmed employee diagnosis and even then it sounds like things will be case by case. Even though we have highly independent work and telework capabilities. I’m so upset with upper management right now for not taking this thing seriously beyond a couple email reminders to wash our hands!

Are you SSA? It sounds like my agency.

Yup. Glad they finally announced some expansion of telework, but silly it only applies to some select employees when we are in a unique position in that most people have work that can be done fully remote.

Can I know how you got a job there? My selfish cousins have jobs there by referring one another. They don't want to refer anyone else instead indicating they apply through USA jobs. Both have high school degrees with no prior government experience. Only one used to be army.

How terribly selfish of them to not resort to blatant nepotism. Can’t imagine why they might not have wanted to help you.

But they have resorted to blatant nepotism but only when it comes to helping each other out. Helping out family isn't a bad thing.

[Anonymous]

are federal teleworkers allowed to print at home from an agency computer?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:are federal teleworkers allowed to print at home from an agency computer?

We don't have agency computers; we use a VPN, but yes, we are allowed to print at home. I think the default is set not to let us print, but IT will change it upon request.

[Anonymous]

Making sure everyone saw this: https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/M-20-16.pdf

Agencies have 48 hours to implement this guidance, which came out on Tuesday. You should see improvements by Friday, in theory.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Making sure everyone saw this: https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/M-20-16.pdf

Agencies have 48 hours to implement this guidance, which came out on Tuesday. You should see improvements by Friday, in theory.

Do you think this will apply to government contractors too?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:are federal teleworkers allowed to print at home from an agency computer?

I have an agency issued at home monitor and printer. I can print with that printer but I am not permitted to connect my work computer to my home printer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My agency is packed today. We're all engineers who can easily telework 100% of the time. We've received no guidance except wash your hands. I'm scared and worried and want to telework. I spoke to my manager about it yesterday who reiterated that I only get one day a week. What do I have to do to be allowed to telework?! Get sick?

Well then you better take sick leave.....the answer is exposure to someone who tested positive.

Rumors are at my agency exposure isn’t enough. We won’t change anything until we have a confirmed employee diagnosis and even then it sounds like things will be case by case. Even though we have highly independent work and telework capabilities. I’m so upset with upper management right now for not taking this thing seriously beyond a couple email reminders to wash our hands!

Are you SSA? It sounds like my agency.

Yup. Glad they finally announced some expansion of telework, but silly it only applies to some select employees when we are in a unique position in that most people have work that can be done fully remote.

Can I know how you got a job there? My selfish cousins have jobs there by referring one another. They don't want to refer anyone else instead indicating they apply through USA jobs. Both have high school degrees with no prior government experience. Only one used to be army.

How terribly selfish of them to not resort to blatant nepotism. Can’t imagine why they might not have wanted to help you.

+1
Plus my teleworkable SSA job requires going to law school and passing the bar first.
But in all sincerity and seriousness, I did hear that there might have been a time that for certain positions, a vacancy was shared with only to some employees who then told their friends to send in their resumes to a certain email address. Those days are long gone. They are hiring through USAjobs.

[Anonymous]

There was an article in the post today that said over half of federal employees are not eligible for telework due to public facing nature or security concerns. I had no idea it was that many.

I feel bad for all of the govt contractors too.