The State of Federal Employee Telework
According to the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), 43 percent of federal employees teleworked in 2023—nearly twice the 22 percent that teleworked in 2019.
It was initially the policy of the Biden Administration to encourage widespread use of telework across federal agencies, particularly in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. But the surge in telework—from 22 percent of federal employees in 2019 to 47 percent in 2021—created problems for some agencies, with rising complaints about telework compromising the federal government’s ability to provide reliable taxpayer services.
For example, Senator Joni Ernst’s “Out of Office” report found:
“[…] thousands of calls from veterans seeking mental health care went unanswered and therapists didn’t even show up for their appointments with veterans at an Atlanta VA. Meanwhile, a manager responsible for overseeing the scheduling of veterans’ appointments in Atlanta dialed into a meeting from a bubble bath—and even posted a selfie on social media soaking in the tub with the caption, ‘my office for the next hour.’”
And senior citizens across the country faced difficulty getting help from the Social Security Administration, often waiting weeks or months for a call back.
Senator Ernst’s report also noted that 4 million calls to the Department of Education from students needing help with financial aid went unanswered, and only two of the IRS’s 76 offices that exist to help people with financial hardship answered the phone.
A President’s Legal Authority Over Telework
It is the President’s responsibility, under his Article II duties, to supervise federal agencies and faithfully execute the laws, including to “ensure that telework does not diminish employee performance or agency operations.” As the Biden Administration rightly noted, the Telework Act of 2010 “does not mandate telework or confer a legal right or entitlement” to telework.
And unions have filed telework-related complaints against the Environmental Protection Agency, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Department of Housing and Urban Development, Treasury, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, and other agencies. They allege unfair labor practices and force the litigation of issues that should clearly be under the President of the United States’—and not federal employee labor union presidents’—authority.
If federal employee unions are defying the will of the self-proclaimed most pro-labor administration in history, it will only get worse for President-elect Trump.
Federal Employee Unions Trying to Thwart Trump’s Plans for More In-Person Work
In an apparent effort to thwart the incoming Trump Administration’s plans to alter current telework practices, some agencies have been locking in multi-year collective bargaining agreements (CBAs).
For example, outgoing Social Security Administration (SSA) commissioner Martin O’Malley signed off on last-minute amendments to telework provision in the agency’s collective bargaining agreement with the American Federation of Government Employees in November 2024.
Those changes struck out the Deputy Commissioners’ ability to eliminate approved telework based on employee performance or agency needs and struck out the Deputy Commissioners’ existing authority over telework policies, replacing it with a requirement that the Trump Administration’s Deputy Commissioners, “adhere to the current number of telework days, eligible positions, and percentage of employees permitted to telework as of the date of this agreement until October 25, 2029.”
That’s a major impediment because 98.5 percent of all SSA employees are eligible for telework. That leaves fewer than 900 non-telework eligible employees across over 1,400 SSA offices that serve 73 million people. It’s no wonder that seniors have been unable to schedule in-person appointments.
Telework can be useful, but the lack of accountability amidst telework abuse in agencies is especially concerning and could lead to blanket restrictions.
Congress Must Prevent Collective Bargaining Agreements from Obstructing a New President’s Legal Duties
Current statute should be interpreted in accordance with the President’s Article II duties such that the President has the right to deviate from provisions in a collective bargaining agreement that abrogate his authority to manage the executive branch of which he is the head.
If such interpretation is not granted, Congress should consider preserving the President’s authority over agencies by amending 5 U.S. Code § 7114(c) of the Federal Service Labor-Management Relations Statute to either limit the collective bargaining agreements to the duration of the Administration under which they were negotiated, or to require the renegotiation of collective bargaining agreements at the beginning of a new Administration.
