Agencies on the front lines of the Trump administration’s efforts to roll back telework so far have shown little sign of relenting in the face of the novel coronavirus, despite the federal government’s HR and medical agencies strongly encouraging expansion of workplace flexibilities.
On Feb. 3, the Office of Personnel Management issued guidance to agency heads on how to prepare for and mitigate the impacts of a potential outbreak of COVID-19. In addition to allowing agencies to authorize weather and safety leave for asymptomatic employees who are quarantined and sick leave for workers who have fallen ill, OPM described telework as a “critical tool during emergency situations,” and encouraged them to be ready to use it to help prevent transmission of the disease.
“Agencies should maximize their telework capacity by entering into telework agreements with as many telework-eligible employees as possible and by conducting exercises to test employees’ ability to access agency networks from home,” OPM wrote. “Managers should ensure that there are effective processes in place for communicating efficiently with employees who are teleworking.”
Later that month, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and National Institutes of Health issued a joint statement highlighting the findings of a report by National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Director Anthony Fauci and other federal scientists, which also encourages deployment of telework to help combat the disease.
“Given the apparent efficiency of virus transmission, everyone should be prepared for COVID-19 to gain a foothold throughout the world, including in the United States,” NIH and CDC wrote. “If the disease begins to spread in U.S. communities, cont ..
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