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EPA Announces Return to In-Person Work for Teleworking Employees
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has informed its workforce of an impending transition back to traditional office environments, with a significant number of employees expected to work onsite five days a week by the end of February.
According to an internal communication accessed by Government Executive, teleworking employees represented by various unions, including the National Treasury Employees Union, the National Association of Government Employees, and the National Association of Independent Labor, along with those at the Environmental Science Center, must resume full-time in-person work by February 24. Others represented by the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) will have a slightly extended deadline, with a return date set for March 24.
Additionally, remote workers in the AFGE category will be required to return to a physical office by April 7. Meanwhile, all other remote employees will be brought back in two distinct phases: employees living within 50 miles of an EPA location must return by March 10, while non-bargaining unit employees residing further away are expected back by April 7. Workers at the Environmental Science Center and those represented by NTEU, NAGE, and NAIL have a return date of May 5.
It should be noted that the mandate excludes employees with reasonable accommodations due to disabilities, those on Domestic Employees Teleworking Overseas arrangements, or military spouses. The EPA has yet to respond to inquiries regarding this decision.
The announcement aligns with a presidential memorandum issued on January 20, 2025, which indicates that the agency believes face-to-face interaction is crucial for fulfilling employee responsibilities. The notice emphasized the need for employees to maintain regular contact with supervisors, colleagues, and the public.
For labor organizations within the EPA, this directive signifies a significant, albeit anticipated, escalation in the ongoing tensions between the Trump administration and organized labor. Earlier this month, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) suggested that federal agencies neglect existing collective bargaining agreements concerning telework, arguing that such provisions infringe upon “management rights.”
This raises legal considerations as contracts typically carry a binding effect, which means they can only be overridden if new legislation is enacted, rather than through agency policy changes or guidance.
Nicole Cantello, president of AFGE Local 704, which represents Chicago-area EPA employees, expressed concern that the union is now assessing all potential legal avenues, including filing grievances, to defend the existing contract robustly. “What they’re doing is ignoring the contract provisions outright,” Cantello stated. She also pointed out that previous decisions to remove members from the Merit Systems Protection Board and the Federal Labor Relations Authority have severely limited the union’s ability to challenge these actions.
Furthermore, Cantello noted that the agency has not communicated with the unions regarding the return to telework and remains silent on how to manage duty assignments for remote employees residing more than 50 miles from an office, especially considering the potential lack of office space.
The termination of telework arrangements, which had been secured at a maximum of four days per week until 2027, poses challenges not only to employees whose lives may be disrupted but also to the agency, which has experienced a rise in productivity attributed to flexible work options in recent years. “I have had three lawyers within my region reach out to us in the past fortnight, indicating that they might have to leave the agency if the return-to-office directive is enforced, and I suspect many others feel similarly,” Cantello remarked. She emphasized the significant productivity gains observed at the EPA since the onset of full telework during the pandemic, with management frequently highlighting these successes.
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