Donald Trump’s Plan for Federal Employees to return to work

Donald Trump Warns Federal Workers

The warning from President-elect Donald Trump to federal employees about obligatory return-to-office policies is faced with considerable challenges. These obstacles include union contracts and pre-existing remote work agreements, which could lead to potential legal disputes involving the government’s workforce of 2.3 million.

Trump has made it clear that federal workers who resist returning to in-person work will be “dismissed.” He criticized the agreement between the Social Security Administration and its union, which he referred to as “terrible” and “ridiculous,” that allows for telework until 2029.

Putting such mandates into action faces significant obstacles. Roughly 56% of federal employees are protected by collective bargaining agreements, and a record 10% of federal positions are now classified as fully remote. The General Services Administration has already started reducing office space to reduce costs, which complicates the immediate return-to-office orders.

One main aspect of Trump’s workforce strategy includes the controversial “Schedule F” executive order, which President Biden previously revoked. This order would remove employment protections from policy-related federal jobs, easing the process for political appointees to fire employees. This could affect thousands of career civil servants across various agencies.

The proposed Department of Government Efficiency, headed by business leaders Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, would lead efforts to restructure federal agencies and curb spending.

Ramaswamy argues that these changes could be implemented through executive action without congressional approval, citing recent Supreme Court precedent. The commission intends to make significant cuts to federal contracting and relocate agencies to incentivize employees to leave the government voluntarily.

Read more...