New OPM memo on RTO

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is the big loophole - OPM
recommends that agencies set a target date of approximately 30 days for full compliance with the
PM, subject to any exclusions granted by the agency and any collective bargaining obligations.

How is that a big loophole?

Could lack of office space be a loophole? No parking/metro access? Will union members be protected?

Everyone, its over. This is real. Our agency heads were forced to send a fascist email today , and they complied. We will get an email about this RTO matter today or Friday.

Yup. They're not here to look for loopholes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do you all read this to mean that no telework whatsoever is allowed? I'm trying to figure out if we can have people on call overnight from home, or if we need to go to 24/7 shifts in the building.

Law enforcement?

Critical infrastructure emergency response

[Anonymous]

No AWS, nothing? I’m going to miss my every other Fridays off.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What about people who are background investigators, etc, who drive around meeting people and interviewing them?

Background investigators have always been remote employees. Their duty stations are their homes. Even this area the field offices are spread out and many don’t have field offices within 50 miles of their residences. The more rural areas you’re looking at 100’s of miles away from field offices. In order to continue their roles they’ll have to stay remote. Unless they detail people in to the places they’re needed at an incredible cost.

My issue with this is that it’s a blanket policy that doesn’t take individual agency roles or capabilities into account. I just think it’s incredibly short sighted.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No AWS, nothing? I’m going to miss my every other Fridays off.

It has nothing to do with alternative work schedules

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What about people who are background investigators, etc, who drive around meeting people and interviewing them?

Background investigators have always been remote employees. Their duty stations are their homes. Even this area the field offices are spread out and many don’t have field offices within 50 miles of their residences. The more rural areas you’re looking at 100’s of miles away from field offices. In order to continue their roles they’ll have to stay remote. Unless they detail people in to the places they’re needed at an incredible cost.

My issue with this is that it’s a blanket policy that doesn’t take individual agency roles or capabilities into account. I just think it’s incredibly short sighted.

Aren't a lot of them contractors? Or did that change in the last decade?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No AWS, nothing? I’m going to miss my every other Fridays off.

It has nothing to do with alternative work schedules

I think there was something somewhere talking about five days a week in the office. I’m not sure if that was a memo or an interpretation of “full time” in an office.

[Anonymous]

For those people who moved to the outer exurbs I bet you’ll see two and three hour commutes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:so stupid. utterly moronic. agencies must be furious that he’s trying to tie their hands, they know they are going to lose tons of people. many agencies won’t care but some will, and they know they will lose good people. in any other world it would be reasonable for agencies to make use of the huge leeway they’ve been given in the memo and now the guidance to basically continue as normal with a few token changes, but everyone is trying to grovel at dear leader’s feet.

it’s absolutely going to wreak havoc one way or another, and at some point it’s going to have dire consequences for the public when agencies can’t fulfill their missions as effectively. let’s just hope he gets blamed for it and his band of idiot sycophants are driven so far out of power that they’re the ones subjected to this sort of draconian stupidity the next time around. unfortunately the dems are such feckless losers that they refuse to engage on this level and instead get wiped out of power.

They will just hire more contractors, thus the rich get richer.

The hiring freeze includes contractor staff replacing civil servants.

[Anonymous]

Doesn’t the DC locality area stretch more than 59 miles from downtown into West Virginia? Are they going to make those people move to Leesburg or something?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What about people who are background investigators, etc, who drive around meeting people and interviewing them?

Background investigators have always been remote employees. Their duty stations are their homes. Even this area the field offices are spread out and many don’t have field offices within 50 miles of their residences. The more rural areas you’re looking at 100’s of miles away from field offices. In order to continue their roles they’ll have to stay remote. Unless they detail people in to the places they’re needed at an incredible cost.

My issue with this is that it’s a blanket policy that doesn’t take individual agency roles or capabilities into account. I just think it’s incredibly short sighted.

Aren't a lot of them contractors? Or did that change in the last decade?

There are contractors too but there are thousands of federal civilian investigators.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do you all read this to mean that no telework whatsoever is allowed? I'm trying to figure out if we can have people on call overnight from home, or if we need to go to 24/7 shifts in the building.

yep. Turn off the computer at 5:30 pm and no more work until 8:30 am.

This is going to make meetings with overseas employees very interesting. lol.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is written like a poorly researched and written high school report, not Federal policy. Wow.

you are incorrect.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Doesn’t the DC locality area stretch more than 59 miles from downtown into West Virginia? Are they going to make those people move to Leesburg or something?

DC locality area stretches all the way out to Winchester and Martinsburg, WV.

[Anonymous]

How is this consistent with pro-telework laws passed by Congress years ago? My agency managers were dragged kicking and screaming to allow telework and only did it because it was mandated.