
US President Donald Trump holds a signed executive order on AI, in the Oval Office of the White House, in Washington, US, January 23, 2025. — Reuters
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Washington’s President Donald Trump is mostly demanding federal employees to return to full -time work, a move that is likely to react by unions and legal challenges.
What does Trump order?
On Monday, Trump instructed the heads of all federal agencies to “take all necessary steps to eliminate remote work arrangements” and demand employees a full -time report on “their respective duty stations”. The two sentences order states that the directive “will be implemented in accordance with applicable law.”
The US Office of Personal Management ordered agencies in a memo on Wednesday to update their television policies by 5 pm on Friday evening and said they fully enforcly implement Trump’s order within 30 days Makes intended.
Can Trump stop federal employees from working far?
It depends. The President has a great authority over the federal manpower, in which agencies have the power to stop allowing remote work for employees who are not unions. This includes supervisors and managers, who cannot be included in the unions, and Trump may move forward to order them to return to the office.
But, about 26% of federal employees are unioned and come under many bargaining contracts that allow remote work or hybrid arrangements.
The Trump administration will have to wait for their expiry or try to re -negotiate the contracts.
Branding agreements between federal agencies and unions can only be challenged in court if they contain illegal terms or produce oppression, bribery or any other wrongdoing.
In some cases, federal agencies may also need to allow disabled employees to work far away.
The federal law calls on employers to provide “proper housing” to workers with chronic medical conditions as long as they can perform their duties.
How many federal employees work from afar?
Trump White House said Monday that currently only 6 % of federal employees work personally, but government data shows that remote work is more limited. According to a report released by the White House Office of Management and Budget in August, about 46 % of federal workers, or 1.1 million people are eligible for remote work, and about 228,000 of them are completely remote.
The US Department of Defense and the Department of Veterans Affairs, which are far more employees than other agencies, are the most remote workers with the Department of Health and Human Services. According to OMB, for federal employees who are eligible for remote work, about 61% of regular work hours are personally done. This figure does not include remote workers.
Why do Trump oppose remote work?
Trump’s ruling can also represent an attempt to encourage some federal workers to resign, opening positions that can be filled by political loyalists.
Elon Musk, who will lead a commission made by Trump to curb government spending, said in the Wall Street Journal opinion on November 20 that federal workers for television “COVID-era privileges” The payment should not be made.
“The need for federal employees to come to the office five days a week will result in a wave of voluntary ending, which we welcome,” Musk wrote.
But, agencies may engage in large numbers of removal or dismissal, especially when they include workers who play an important role or are difficult to change.
Trump’s agenda, which, may require full staffing agencies to implement thousands of federal regulations, to cancel thousands of federal regulations, interact with a large number of deportation and change US health policy.
In many cases, Trump will have to choose between the elimination of the federal manpower and performing other measures, experts said.
Can the President dismiss the workers who resist the return to the office mandate?
The heads of the president and the agency have a huge authority to dismiss non -union workers, which may include violations of the return mandate in the office.
But it is important to inform the federal employees that they are being fired at least 30 days ago, including the opportunity to explain and respond to the reason for their dismissal.
And federal workers who lose their jobs can bring a challenge to the merit Systems Protection Board, which is an independent three -member panel appointed by the president, trying to restore.
Employees may argue before the board that they were not fired because the agencies did not follow the proper procedures and violated their proper procedures or targeted them for discrimination reasons. Gone. Board decisions are bound until they are separated from the Federal Appeal Court.