White House Tells Federal Workers to Prepare to Return to Office

[brooklynite]

Source: Bloomberg

The White House ordered federal agencies on Monday to begin preparing to return workers to offices, telling them to align their coronavirus reopening plans with those of the states and municipalities where they’re located.

“In partnership with state, local, tribal, and territorial governments, and the private sector, the federal government is actively planning to ramp back up government operations to the maximum extent possible, as local conditions warrant,” Office of Management and Budget Director Russ Vought wrote in a memo distributed to the heads of federal departments and agencies.

Agencies are encouraged to allow federal employees and contractors to return to the office in low-risk areas,” Vought wrote in the memo.

But the memo said to allow employees to work from home until state and local authorities begin reopening their economies under the three-phase plan the White House outlined last week.

Read more: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-04-20/white-house-tells-federal-workers-to-prepare-to-return-to-office

[nitpicker]

1. From NBC News

https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/live-blog/2020-04-20-coronavirus-news-n1187556/health/health-news/live-blog/2020-04-20-coronavirus-news-n1187556/ncrd1188266#liveBlogHeader

Shannon Pettypiece

38m ago / 4:39 PM EDT

Federal government preparing workers to head back to the office

WASHINGTON — The federal government is preparing to bring employees back to the office as soon as state and local authorities permit, the Office of Management and Budget told government agencies on Monday.

Crediting the Trump administration’s “aggressive response” for saving lives, acting OMB director Russ Vought said in a memo to agencies posted Monday on the White House website that the "federal government is actively planning to ramp back up government operations to the maximum extent possible, as local conditions warrant, consistent with the National guidelines for Opening Up America Again.”

President Donald Trump last week that outlined a three-phase strategy for states to determine when to bring businesses and services back online. Eighty-five percent of the federal workforce is located outside the Washington, D.C., area, which means different agencies will encounter different scenarios and timelines.
(snip)

[nitpicker]

5. The NBC News piece has a link to the 11-page memo

They deigned to mention such issues as school and daycare closures and mass transit availability, but I think the main purpose was "promoting economic recovery" ((of the retail operations next to Federal office buildings)).

[turbinetree]

2. Is Coronavirus Don going to be standing at the capital steps shaking hands and not having a mask on

and greeting them.............and so if people don't show up for work are they going to fire them...................if they are in "low risk areas, what the fuck is that suppose to mean.............JFC................

[bluestarone]

3. i'm sure there are regulations that protect the workers if they are

ENFORCED! Could be interesting in the right people are involved!

[DBoon]

4. Return to work "in low risk areas"

Thereby helping to turn these into high risk areas.

[brooklynite]

10. The issue her is: my wife is here in NYC ("high risk") but might get called back to DC

[TeamPooka]

6. make all of trumps political appointees show up first

[BigmanPigman]

8. Brilliant idea!

[SWBTATTReg]

7. Don't these federal workers still have to obey state edicts? I suspect so...nt

[Massacure]

11. Not exactly

States may not issue laws or regulations which curtail the ability of the federal government to perform its own work. For example, if Montana decided to pass a law prohibiting anybody from servicing nuclear weapons or possessing the components necessary to do so, they could not enforce it against U.S. military service members.

[NutmegYankee]

13. They can't close federal offices.

While states can close businesses, federal workplaces fall outside of their jurisdiction. A federal employee ID is evidence of being essential. That said, management of federal workplaces were actually early adopters of work from home and probably would be careful to return the workplace.

[machoneman]

9. Oh, Trumpy will write an E.O. once he realizes no one will come back until and unless....

they feel safe and Dr. Fauci says it;s o.k.

Just watch Trump and his evil minions start penalizing all non-complaina government workers in so, so many ways to force their return. Firing, demotions, stoppage of health benefits....you name it!

[amcgrath]

12. its in the wording

this wasn't a message for federal workers. Its a message to those morons ignoring the safety measures and protesting closures. Trump is trying to secure their adoration by pretending to be one of them. Yes, he'd like the whole thing to be over, but suggesting agencies "allow workers who was to come back" is very different from telling people to get back to work.

If federal workers were ordered back to work and became infected, they would sue the government into bankruptcy almost immediately.