“This is a commonsense step toward treating all VA employees equally,” Acting VA Secretary Todd Hunter said in a statement. “Most VA clinical staff don’t have the luxury of working remotely, and we believe the performance, collaboration and productivity of the department will improve if all VA employees are held to the same standard.”
Eligible employees are expected to return to work sites unless excused because of a disability, medical condition or other “compelling reason,” the department said.
The order was announced after President Trump’s recent executive order outlining an expectation for federal employees to return to offices and work sites.
More than 20% of VA’s more than 479,000 employees have such arrangements, the VA said.
The department said political appointees, senior executive service members, and other senior scientific and professional employees will no longer be eligible for remote work. By Feb. 24, they must return to offices, except for “ad hoc or situational telework,” the VA said.
Also by Feb. 24, remote work for supervisors living within 50 miles of a VA facility will end.
By April 28, remote work and telework arrangements for non-bargaining unit employees living within 50 miles of an agency facility will end, the VA said.
However, remote work arrangements for supervisors living more than 50 miles from an agency facility and non-bargaining unit employees will not be terminated, at least for now, the VA also said.
The VA told those workers to expect future guidance. And requirements for union members will be outlined later, the government also said.
Meanwhile, exceptions may be allowed for military spouses with permanent change-of-station orders, according to the VA.
The Dayton VA Medical Center has 2,355 full-time employees.
A 2023 Government Accountability Office report found that the federal government owns over 500 million square feet of office space that costs billions annually.
“As the country emerges from the pandemic, the federal government has a unique opportunity to reconsider how much and what type of office space it needs,” the GAO said at the time.
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