AUSTIN (KXAN) — Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) employees now must return to in-person work to comply with President Trump’s Presidential Memorandum (PM), according to a news release from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
On Jan. 20, Trump took presidential action to “take all necessary steps to terminate remote work arrangements and require employees to return to work in-person at their respective duty stations on a full-time basis,” the PM said on the White House website.
Those who have telework and remote work arrangements, including supervisors on telework arrangements and remote work arrangements who live within 50 miles of an agency will have those arrangements terminated, according to the VA. Those employees had to return to in-person work Monday.
However, those employees who had to return to work Monday are subject to the following, as provided by the VA:
- Exceptions/Exemptions: Exceptions and exemptions to this policy include employees with remote and telework arrangements approved as a reasonable accommodation due to a disability, qualifying medical condition, military spouse with existing remote work arrangements, spouses of U.S. Foreign Service members on overseas assignment, and employees on Domestic Employee Teleworking Overseas arrangements. No additional exceptions or exemptions will be considered at this time.
- Extensions: Under Secretaries, Assistant Secretaries, and Other Key Officials are authorized to grant extensions of time to comply with the in-person reporting requirement on a case-by-case basis. Extensions will be time-limited and may be considered for situations such as lack of available office space and delayed information technology readiness (such as, insufficient bandwidth and network capacity). Extensions may also be used based upon extenuating circumstances beyond the agency or employee’s control or based upon operational reasons where a permanent exception or exemption will be requested, pending the publication of specific guidance on processing of exceptions and exemptions.
- Personnel Actions: Individuals who do not return or refuse to return to work in person by the scheduled date and who do not possess an approved exception or extension are in violation of agency direction and will be charged absent without leave. Management will consult with human resources to initiate disciplinary action, up to and including removal from Government service, if an individual does not return or refuses to return to work in-person as required.
- Policy / Administration: The Office of the Assistant Secretary for Human Resources and Administration / Operations, Security and Preparedness is in the process of completing updates to Handbook 5011 to comply with the PM, which will revise VA’s telework policy to require employees to work full-time at their respective duty stations (agency worksites) unless excepted or exempted by policy or agency head.
As for the remaining return-to-work employees, those on telework arrangements have to return May 5, and those on remote work arrangements have to return by July 28, according to the VA.
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