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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]So when they talk about RTO for all 5 days per week, does this include the VLJs? What’s the theoretical plan for those of us who live out of state? I’m a newer AA (GS-12) and know cohorts all over the U.S., including AK/HI. Do we set up office at the closest RO? I’d probably be the only BVA person at that office if so. Move? Lol, I own a home and have a life here. Get remote RAs?[/quote]

No one knows (and to note that there are also people overseas as military spouses who work with the Board). I don't even think the dingleberries running their mouths understand what they are saying. Theory and practicality are two different things. It's one thing to say we are sending humans to Mars by 2026 and it is a different thing to actually do it. And we are nowhere near getting to mars.

Congress will have to answer to constituents if things look bad. So much does not make sense with the theories they have. In fact, no one has even discussed the cost v benefit analysis of their thoughts. If the proposed congressional subcommittee does its job, i.e., looks at facts and real data (as opposed to political manipulation), I anticipate them realizing that it will increase costs overall, and at best, there may be a minuscule amount of savings if people leave, which will be nothing but a drop in the bucket on the macro scale, which no one will care about. I would expect years of testimony on the matter form labor experts, congress people, gov employees, heads of agencies, labor unions, etc.... One projection I read said employee salaries are 4% of the overall government budget. You think they can cut billions to trillions through firing/quitting/attrition, I don't. Otherwise it would have easily been done for many years.

If they eventually agree on anything, it may be that they return to pre-Covid standards, which is what Biden was pushing anyways. For the Board, that would not be a major shift as we had telework/remote work before Covid. The Board has become MORE efficient through its structure of remote work, completing MORE appeals than ever in the history of the Board. We have also reduced costs MORE than ever before. If anything, they can just slash our budget so we cannot hire anyone or do overtime. If they were to make the Board quit all remote work, then we would need to buy a new building, lease more floors, buy more equipment, increase overhead (electricity, water, other costs, security, staff, e.g.), our case backlog would blow immensely out of proportion to the people we would have (making it unrealistic to accomplish our mission), Vets would not get decisions for even longer, and people in Congress would have to answer for their actions. This is not like addressing an agency, i.e., Library of Congress, where they have plenty of space and choose not to use it. I believe we are just sailing a different ship than other agencies.

And is it very possible that in 2 years, the House flips. And who knows what is going to happen in the interim. People get distracted, things happen, moods change, focuses shift, etc. Taking a scalpel and not an axe to government spending is necessary. But you can believe that when people hear Vets are going to bear the brunt of something, that will not please the executive branch who depends on their votes, unlike other gov agencies perhaps. And if something does happen, I do not see how it could happen in an instant given all circumstances. 1000 attorneys and judges coming into one building of 2 floors (soon to be down to 1) every day of the week will accomplish nothing, cause mass chaos, and we will all be prorating our time due to "administrative" issues out of our control. I cannot issue decisions without a computer, proper staff, and proper space to do it in. So, when our numbers decrease from 110,000 appeals to 50,000 appeals (if that), the Chairman (whoever it may be) can easily point to Congress as the cause and the person who initiated the return-to-office policy.

In short, we are all riding this roller coaster together. Always have a plan B, as any good lawyer does. And hopefully, people will see that theory and practical application are not the same thing.

I did read a comment on another cite from a person who said that many, many years ago, his agency (which he did not name) "rented" a part of another federal building which was closest to him (as his nearest agency building was 2 hours away), and he went there to work. Obviously, that ended up being a waste of resources.

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