New OPM memo on RTO

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Clarification on OPM website indicates situational telework will be only for weather and emergencies declared by the agency.

So I guess that means ANY time I have a doctor's appointment, or one of my kids does, I'll be taking an entire day of SL? Is that even allowed? I've heard some policies saying you can't take more than a half day. But the last train into DC leaves from my city at 7 AM, and I'm sure not buying a second car just to drive an hour to the end of a metro line after appointments.

Cn you please provide a link? I looked but wasn't able to find this. THank you.

https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/USOPM/bulletins/3ce821e

Any idea what this means?


“ Agency heads and employee supervisors are only required to certify telework for “other compelling reasons” for an employee not working full time at the duty station. No such certification is required for an employee disability or qualifying medical condition outside of their agency’s reasonable accommodation procedures. “

[Anonymous]

Anyone know what’s going in with the State department? I’m a vendor/contractor with them and they’ve gone silent. Are they waiting for word on changes?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Clarification on OPM website indicates situational telework will be only for weather and emergencies declared by the agency.

So I guess that means ANY time I have a doctor's appointment, or one of my kids does, I'll be taking an entire day of SL? Is that even allowed? I've heard some policies saying you can't take more than a half day. But the last train into DC leaves from my city at 7 AM, and I'm sure not buying a second car just to drive an hour to the end of a metro line after appointments.

Cn you please provide a link? I looked but wasn't able to find this. THank you.

https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/USOPM/bulletins/3ce821e

Any idea what this means?


“ Agency heads and employee supervisors are only required to certify telework for “other compelling reasons” for an employee not working full time at the duty station. No such certification is required for an employee disability or qualifying medical condition outside of their agency’s reasonable accommodation procedures. “

I think this means if you desire to telework for reasons other than " employee disability or qualifying medical condition outside of their agency’s reasonable accommodation procedures", the agency head and supervisor need to approve

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Clarification on OPM website indicates situational telework will be only for weather and emergencies declared by the agency.

So I guess that means ANY time I have a doctor's appointment, or one of my kids does, I'll be taking an entire day of SL? Is that even allowed? I've heard some policies saying you can't take more than a half day. But the last train into DC leaves from my city at 7 AM, and I'm sure not buying a second car just to drive an hour to the end of a metro line after appointments.

Cn you please provide a link? I looked but wasn't able to find this. THank you.

https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/USOPM/bulletins/3ce821e

Any idea what this means?


“ Agency heads and employee supervisors are only required to certify telework for “other compelling reasons” for an employee not working full time at the duty station. No such certification is required for an employee disability or qualifying medical condition outside of their agency’s reasonable accommodation procedures. “

I was wondering the same. Who is writing this crap?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Clarification on OPM website indicates situational telework will be only for weather and emergencies declared by the agency.

So I guess that means ANY time I have a doctor's appointment, or one of my kids does, I'll be taking an entire day of SL? Is that even allowed? I've heard some policies saying you can't take more than a half day. But the last train into DC leaves from my city at 7 AM, and I'm sure not buying a second car just to drive an hour to the end of a metro line after appointments.

Cn you please provide a link? I looked but wasn't able to find this. THank you.

https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/USOPM/bulletins/3ce821e

Any idea what this means?


“ Agency heads and employee supervisors are only required to certify telework for “other compelling reasons” for an employee not working full time at the duty station. No such certification is required for an employee disability or qualifying medical condition outside of their agency’s reasonable accommodation procedures. “

I think this means if you desire to telework for reasons other than " employee disability or qualifying medical condition outside of their agency’s reasonable accommodation procedures", the agency head and supervisor need to approve

We still don’t know if this means that every time someone wants to situationally telework the front office has to approve it. Or is it just talking about recurring telework? I’m sure Amanda and the Xidiots at OPM don’t understand the difference yet.

I do think this leaves some room for agencies with space issues to push back, but we’ll see.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Clarification on OPM website indicates situational telework will be only for weather and emergencies declared by the agency.

So I guess that means ANY time I have a doctor's appointment, or one of my kids does, I'll be taking an entire day of SL? Is that even allowed? I've heard some policies saying you can't take more than a half day. But the last train into DC leaves from my city at 7 AM, and I'm sure not buying a second car just to drive an hour to the end of a metro line after appointments.

Cn you please provide a link? I looked but wasn't able to find this. THank you.

https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/USOPM/bulletins/3ce821e

Any idea what this means?


“ Agency heads and employee supervisors are only required to certify telework for “other compelling reasons” for an employee not working full time at the duty station. No such certification is required for an employee disability or qualifying medical condition outside of their agency’s reasonable accommodation procedures. “

I think this means if you desire to telework for reasons other than " employee disability or qualifying medical condition outside of their agency’s reasonable accommodation procedures", the agency head and supervisor need to approve

The ‘only need to certify telework for an employee not working full time at duty station’ sentence is what confuses me

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What bothers me the most about all of this, even more than being called back into the office is the way the OPM memo was worded. And the fact that our senior leaders sent it out unchanged. It is cold, rude, callous and untrue. I feel let down by our senior managers when a month ago I would have said they were the absolute best. That memo read like a high schooler wrote it. And it was factually untrue! My entire office is in person 50% and they are talking about how our building is abandoned and no one is working. I don’t want fluffy language but that memo was a disgrace. Never in my 20 years as a Fed have I had such a nasty memo sent to me. If our senior leaders (feds!) want to send more like this, they can be guaranteed that they’ve lost the heart of their workforce. We all thought we’d be returning to the office but it’s an embarrassment how this is being handled.

Frankly they should be using a scalpel to get rid of bad apples instead of this bulldozer. Give us managers better options to fire or manage our employees. Fire people who are only “fully successful” on their performance evals. Going into the office isn’t going to get rid of bad apples.

Absolutely this. The fact that our agency head sent out the template word for word made me incredibly disheartened. She signed her name to something malicious and untrue. She could have sent out the same idea in a more professional, factual manner; instead she chose to bend the knee. It sucks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What bothers me the most about all of this, even more than being called back into the office is the way the OPM memo was worded. And the fact that our senior leaders sent it out unchanged. It is cold, rude, callous and untrue. I feel let down by our senior managers when a month ago I would have said they were the absolute best. That memo read like a high schooler wrote it. And it was factually untrue! My entire office is in person 50% and they are talking about how our building is abandoned and no one is working. I don’t want fluffy language but that memo was a disgrace. Never in my 20 years as a Fed have I had such a nasty memo sent to me. If our senior leaders (feds!) want to send more like this, they can be guaranteed that they’ve lost the heart of their workforce. We all thought we’d be returning to the office but it’s an embarrassment how this is being handled.

Frankly they should be using a scalpel to get rid of bad apples instead of this bulldozer. Give us managers better options to fire or manage our employees. Fire people who are only “fully successful” on their performance evals. Going into the office isn’t going to get rid of bad apples.

Absolutely this. The fact that our agency head sent out the template word for word made me incredibly disheartened. She signed her name to something malicious and untrue. She could have sent out the same idea in a more professional, factual manner; instead she chose to bend the knee. It sucks.

always remember that the boss will throw you under the bus immediately. They cannot be trusted.

[Anonymous]

relatedly, what sort of telework serves a “compelling agency need”? Didn’t it all??

My agency has a compelling agency need to keep the guy who moved to North Dakota around, he’s the smartest one here. And a compelling agency need to at least match the flexibility offered by in house or law firms.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:relatedly, what sort of telework serves a “compelling agency need”? Didn’t it all??

My agency has a compelling agency need to keep the guy who moved to North Dakota around, he’s the smartest one here. And a compelling agency need to at least match the flexibility offered by in house or law firms.

This is where having alternative offers in hand will (might) help.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Clarification on OPM website indicates situational telework will be only for weather and emergencies declared by the agency.

So I guess that means ANY time I have a doctor's appointment, or one of my kids does, I'll be taking an entire day of SL? Is that even allowed? I've heard some policies saying you can't take more than a half day. But the last train into DC leaves from my city at 7 AM, and I'm sure not buying a second car just to drive an hour to the end of a metro line after appointments.

Cn you please provide a link? I looked but wasn't able to find this. THank you.

https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/USOPM/bulletins/3ce821e

Any idea what this means?


“ Agency heads and employee supervisors are only required to certify telework for “other compelling reasons” for an employee not working full time at the duty station. No such certification is required for an employee disability or qualifying medical condition outside of their agency’s reasonable accommodation procedures. “

I think this means if you desire to telework for reasons other than " employee disability or qualifying medical condition outside of their agency’s reasonable accommodation procedures", the agency head and supervisor need to approve

The ‘only need to certify telework for an employee not working full time at duty station’ sentence is what confuses me

The person requesting telework is requesting to, for a period, to not work full time on-site at their duty station.

Yes it is like a riddle, took me a few min to figure out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What bothers me the most about all of this, even more than being called back into the office is the way the OPM memo was worded. And the fact that our senior leaders sent it out unchanged. It is cold, rude, callous and untrue. I feel let down by our senior managers when a month ago I would have said they were the absolute best. That memo read like a high schooler wrote it. And it was factually untrue! My entire office is in person 50% and they are talking about how our building is abandoned and no one is working. I don’t want fluffy language but that memo was a disgrace. Never in my 20 years as a Fed have I had such a nasty memo sent to me. If our senior leaders (feds!) want to send more like this, they can be guaranteed that they’ve lost the heart of their workforce. We all thought we’d be returning to the office but it’s an embarrassment how this is being handled.

Frankly they should be using a scalpel to get rid of bad apples instead of this bulldozer. Give us managers better options to fire or manage our employees. Fire people who are only “fully successful” on their performance evals. Going into the office isn’t going to get rid of bad apples.

Absolutely this. The fact that our agency head sent out the template word for word made me incredibly disheartened. She signed her name to something malicious and untrue. She could have sent out the same idea in a more professional, factual manner; instead she chose to bend the knee. It sucks.

My understanding is that they did not have a choice and that people did push back without effect. I wouldn’t blame your boss too much — she could quit in protest but that will leave you more exposed. Editing their stupid memo is not the hill to die on. I tbink a lot of fed managers are currently trying to decide which hill they will die on and how to make their sacrifice matter the most.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What bothers me the most about all of this, even more than being called back into the office is the way the OPM memo was worded. And the fact that our senior leaders sent it out unchanged. It is cold, rude, callous and untrue. I feel let down by our senior managers when a month ago I would have said they were the absolute best. That memo read like a high schooler wrote it. And it was factually untrue! My entire office is in person 50% and they are talking about how our building is abandoned and no one is working. I don’t want fluffy language but that memo was a disgrace. Never in my 20 years as a Fed have I had such a nasty memo sent to me. If our senior leaders (feds!) want to send more like this, they can be guaranteed that they’ve lost the heart of their workforce. We all thought we’d be returning to the office but it’s an embarrassment how this is being handled.

Frankly they should be using a scalpel to get rid of bad apples instead of this bulldozer. Give us managers better options to fire or manage our employees. Fire people who are only “fully successful” on their performance evals. Going into the office isn’t going to get rid of bad apples.

Absolutely this. The fact that our agency head sent out the template word for word made me incredibly disheartened. She signed her name to something malicious and untrue. She could have sent out the same idea in a more professional, factual manner; instead she chose to bend the knee. It sucks.

My understanding is that they did not have a choice and that people did push back without effect. I wouldn’t blame your boss too much — she could quit in protest but that will leave you more exposed. Editing their stupid memo is not the hill to die on. I tbink a lot of fed managers are currently trying to decide which hill they will die on and how to make their sacrifice matter the most.

Our agency did not send out the memo word for word, and edited significantly. They have a choice.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Clarification on OPM website indicates situational telework will be only for weather and emergencies declared by the agency.

So I guess that means ANY time I have a doctor's appointment, or one of my kids does, I'll be taking an entire day of SL? Is that even allowed? I've heard some policies saying you can't take more than a half day. But the last train into DC leaves from my city at 7 AM, and I'm sure not buying a second car just to drive an hour to the end of a metro line after appointments.

Schedule 2 doctors appointments on the same day and you are permitted to take a full day of sick leave.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What bothers me the most about all of this, even more than being called back into the office is the way the OPM memo was worded. And the fact that our senior leaders sent it out unchanged. It is cold, rude, callous and untrue. I feel let down by our senior managers when a month ago I would have said they were the absolute best. That memo read like a high schooler wrote it. And it was factually untrue! My entire office is in person 50% and they are talking about how our building is abandoned and no one is working. I don’t want fluffy language but that memo was a disgrace. Never in my 20 years as a Fed have I had such a nasty memo sent to me. If our senior leaders (feds!) want to send more like this, they can be guaranteed that they’ve lost the heart of their workforce. We all thought we’d be returning to the office but it’s an embarrassment how this is being handled.

Frankly they should be using a scalpel to get rid of bad apples instead of this bulldozer. Give us managers better options to fire or manage our employees. Fire people who are only “fully successful” on their performance evals. Going into the office isn’t going to get rid of bad apples.

Absolutely this. The fact that our agency head sent out the template word for word made me incredibly disheartened. She signed her name to something malicious and untrue. She could have sent out the same idea in a more professional, factual manner; instead she chose to bend the knee. It sucks.

My understanding is that they did not have a choice and that people did push back without effect. I wouldn’t blame your boss too much — she could quit in protest but that will leave you more exposed. Editing their stupid memo is not the hill to die on. I tbink a lot of fed managers are currently trying to decide which hill they will die on and how to make their sacrifice matter the most.

Our agency did not send out the memo word for word, and edited significantly. They have a choice.

Ours sent it out verbatim, but made it clear it was from OPM and sent under duress.