Anonymous
Post 01/23/2025 11:27     Subject: What is your federal agency telling you re: RTO? (No other rants/comments!)
Nothing official from my agency yet, but we are having an all-staff meeting this afternoon so I imagine we will hear something then.
Anonymous
Post 01/23/2025 11:25     Subject: What is your federal agency telling you re: RTO? (No other rants/comments!)
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:USPTO. Same—no one knows what’s going to happen. Just sit tight (at home) for now.

This is an interesting one since this agency effectively kicked people out of the office and has been VERY strict about telework every since all the controversies several years back.


I'm at the USPTO as well. I've been at home since 2004, just before we moved from Crystal City. They do not have enough office space to send us all back to the office. Most of us are in far flung places across the lower 48. Those in other places are also recieving lower locality pay for living in LCOL places. I think most of us are permanent teleworkers so I don't think they can force us back. Telework is part of our CBA, at least for my union. The hires in recent years haven't even been required to work in the office for the first 2 years for training and getting fully authorized to work completely independently.

In addition, I don't think the USPTO is high on anyone's radar. The agency is Constitutionally mandated and does not recieve an appropriation from Congress. In short, they have bigger fish to fry.


They are "appropriated" just like SEC is appropriated -- from a fee funded source. Both are jurisdictional *appropriated* by Congress in that Congress can tell these agencies how to spend their funds. Also, telework isn't about whether an agency is appropriated; it's about who has oversight over the agency. USPTO has heavy oversight from Congressional committees and most importantly our new Project 2025 lead at OMB. Good luck!
Anonymous
Post 01/23/2025 10:51     Subject: What is your federal agency telling you re: RTO? (No other rants/comments!)
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:USPTO. Same—no one knows what’s going to happen. Just sit tight (at home) for now.

This is an interesting one since this agency effectively kicked people out of the office and has been VERY strict about telework every since all the controversies several years back.


I'm at the USPTO as well. I've been at home since 2004, just before we moved from Crystal City. They do not have enough office space to send us all back to the office. Most of us are in far flung places across the lower 48. Those in other places are also recieving lower locality pay for living in LCOL places. I think most of us are permanent teleworkers so I don't think they can force us back. Telework is part of our CBA, at least for my union. The hires in recent years haven't even been required to work in the office for the first 2 years for training and getting fully authorized to work completely independently.

In addition, I don't think the USPTO is high on anyone's radar. The agency is Constitutionally mandated and does not recieve an appropriation from Congress. In short, they have bigger fish to fry.
Anonymous
Post 01/23/2025 10:26     Subject: What is your federal agency telling you re: RTO? (No other rants/comments!)
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Will bargaining and non bargaining make a difference? All our supervisors are non bargaining- will it just be them in the office? I don’t think supervisors were the ones cheating the system.


We've been told non bargaining will be first because there are union agreements in place with bargaining


NP and I think there will be a revolt among the management ranks if BUs get to TW and NBUs don't get to TW at all. It's like an extra $10K as a 15 for all the extra work I think yanking TW will cause a lot of them to step down to staff positions.
Anonymous
Post 01/23/2025 10:26     Subject: What is your federal agency telling you re: RTO? (No other rants/comments!)
Nothing. I'm currently in a meeting with a manager who hasn't even seen the OPM memo that came out last night. Our leadership is like "I'll believe it when I see it come in through my email from our secretary."

Sigh.
Anonymous
Post 01/23/2025 10:24     Subject: What is your federal agency telling you re: RTO? (No other rants/comments!)
Anonymous wrote:Will bargaining and non bargaining make a difference? All our supervisors are non bargaining- will it just be them in the office? I don’t think supervisors were the ones cheating the system.


We've been told non bargaining will be first because there are union agreements in place with bargaining
Anonymous
Post 01/23/2025 10:20     Subject: What is your federal agency telling you re: RTO? (No other rants/comments!)
Will bargaining and non bargaining make a difference? All our supervisors are non bargaining- will it just be them in the office? I don’t think supervisors were the ones cheating the system.
Anonymous
Post 01/23/2025 09:51     Subject: What is your federal agency telling you re: RTO? (No other rants/comments!)
Anonymous wrote:My agency has cancelled all recurring telework and all non-bargaining employees must be back at work by Feb 17, 5 days a week.


Did your agency cancel recurring telework for bargaining employees? Do they have to return to work?
Anonymous
Post 01/23/2025 09:42     Subject: What is your federal agency telling you re: RTO? (No other rants/comments!)
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:The problem is there is a huge lack.of office space for full return to.office for government employees let alone our contractors which are contractually allowed to telework.
Our productivity using telework increased as well.


Will people please stop saying that? Seriously. Yes, some people will be more productive working remotely, but there will also be plenty of scam artists. You need to surrender the fantasy. For most people. remote work will soon be a distant memory, public and private sector alike. Stop with the "i'm more productive! My commute!" yeah, it sucks but deal with it.


We have metrics showing increased productivity. You have "a feeling" that somebody somewhere must be cheating.


NP. The only telework cheater I know of was a contractor, and her company fired her after the government collected proof.

IMHO it's not that easy to cheat in a way that harms productivity without getting caught.
Anonymous
Post 01/23/2025 09:41     Subject: What is your federal agency telling you re: RTO? (No other rants/comments!)
Were so cooked, fedbros. See y’all in office on Monday…
Anonymous
Post 01/23/2025 09:40     Subject: What is your federal agency telling you re: RTO? (No other rants/comments!)
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:The problem is there is a huge lack.of office space for full return to.office for government employees let alone our contractors which are contractually allowed to telework.
Our productivity using telework increased as well.


Will people please stop saying that? Seriously. Yes, some people will be more productive working remotely, but there will also be plenty of scam artists. You need to surrender the fantasy. For most people. remote work will soon be a distant memory, public and private sector alike. Stop with the "i'm more productive! My commute!" yeah, it sucks but deal with it.


No - this is a current trend and will swing back. It makes no sense, just the traffic around DC alone will be unmanageable.
Anonymous
Post 01/23/2025 09:37     Subject: What is your federal agency telling you re: RTO? (No other rants/comments!)
Sounds like from that memo we should know by Friday afternoon.
Anonymous
Post 01/23/2025 09:30     Subject: What is your federal agency telling you re: RTO? (No other rants/comments!)
We got an email today that the agency is awaiting the department for concrete directives.
Anonymous
Post 01/23/2025 09:28     Subject: What is your federal agency telling you re: RTO? (No other rants/comments!)
No direction as of yet. Crickets.
Anonymous
Post 01/23/2025 09:27     Subject: What is your federal agency telling you re: RTO? (No other rants/comments!)
Anonymous wrote:This is the opm memo https://chcoc.gov/sites/default/files/OPM%20Return%20to%20Office%20Guidance%20Memorandum%201-22-25.pdf


That's pretty clear although there may still be wiggle room in section III, item 1 "eligible employees"?

The local economy is not relevant "to increase the efficiency and accountability of the federal workforce":

"Federal office buildings sit mostly empty, particularly Washington, D.C.-area agency headquarters offices, devastating the local economy and serving as a national embarrassment."