Federal agencies will gradually return to normal operations in parallel with the White House’s three-phase plan to reactivate the national economy as the COVID-19 pandemic recedes, the Trump administration said Monday.
The guidance does not provide any set schedule for the process, but rather says agency heads must make decisions on reducing telework and fully reopening offices based on factors including geography, personnel guidelines, and guidelines for travel by federal employees and contractors.
“Given the diversity of Federal workforce missions, geographic locations and the needs of individuals within the workforce itself, this transition will require continued diligence and flexibility from Federal agencies and the Federal workforce,” according to a memorandum to federal agency heads from Russell Vought, acting director of the White House Office of Management and Budget, and Michael Rigas, acting director of the Office of Personnel Management.
The majority of staff at federal offices in Washington, D.C., and around the nation have been working remotely for weeks to curb the spread of novel coronavirus 2019. Only mission-critical personnel have gone into offices, while work at Department of Energy nuclear weapons and cleanup sites has been limited to essential operations.
The White House on Friday rolled out its “Opening Up America Again” guidelines. It urges state and local leaders to hold off on widespread opening of businesses until, in part, a two-week “downward trajectory” in both confirmed cases of COVID-19 and influenza-like illnesses. That would open the gate for individuals and employers to move toward normal activities, in three phases.
“In general, the Federal Government will calibrate its transitional strategy to return to normal operations to the Phase of a state, county, region, or metropolitan-area determined by the state assessment,” according to Vought and Rigas.
Over 95% of personnel at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission has been teleworking for weeks. The agency is reviewing the new guidance and discussing the schedule and approach for bringing staff back into the office, a spokesman said Monday.
