White House tells federal agencies to prepare return-to-work plans
District of Columbia | June 11, 2021
The White House on Thursday lifted a cap on employees working in federal buildings and directed agencies to prepare plans to allow employees to return to work in-person.
The move is the latest sign of conditions in Washington returning to normal as more and more people get vaccinated against COVID-19 in the United States.
The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) memo sent to agency heads directs them to complete plans for “reentry” by July 19 that detail when and how an increased number of employees can return to in-person work.
“Agency plans for reentry and post-reentry should be informed by lessons learned during the past 15 months. The agency’s eventual post-pandemic operating state may differ in significant ways from the agency’s pre-pandemic operating state,” the OMB memo states.
The new guidance lifts a previous cap limiting the number of people in federal workplaces to 25 percent of normal capacity, though agencies’ COVID-19 health safety plans remain in place and employees are still allowed broad discretion to work from home. The federal government’s operating status remains “Open with maximum telework flexibilities,” it says…
(Excerpts from the Hill)