Federal workers see risks to them in Trump push to reopen the US
As Donald Trump presses states to reopen, government workers and their unions say they're increasingly concerned that their boss es will force them back to the office without sufficient protection.
Agencies' approaches to returning to offices have been uneven, they say. Although the Securities and Exchange Commission's chief told many workers to plan on staying home through at least mid-July, the Internal Revenue Service has cal l ed back 1 1 , 000 workers to begin processing paper tax returns, responding to a backlog of mail and answering taxpayer calls.
Workers at some agencies who are already back—or who never left — report wide variations in their employers' attitude toward safety. For starters, there are no plans for broad testing or contact-tracing. The haphazard approach has led to confusing and often contradictory messages being sent to more than 2 million federal workers, 85% of whom live outside the greater Washington, D.C., region.
“Their lives shouldn't be taken for granted, and that' s the way we feel right now,” said Everett Kelley, president of the American Federation of Government Employees, which represents about 700,000 government workers. “Agencies are trying to appease some in this hierarchy by saying, `OK we' re going to reopen,' but the reality is it's just not feasible.”
The government' s dilemma is one many large companies have struggled to address. Banks including Ci ti group Inc. and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. are trying to figure out how employees can safely return, exploring policies from alternating teams that would rotate through office son a staggered basis to seeking ways to better monitor employee health so another outbreak can be quickly thwarted. In a sign that telework is here to stay, Twitter Inc. has told some staff they can work from home permanently.
Asked to respond to criticism about the federal approach to reopening, the Office of Personnel Management issued a statement saying that “as conditions warrant across each state, Federal agencies are working to return to normal operations. Our Federal workers have shown tremendous fortitude in keeping the U.S. strong throughout this emergency.”
Many employees at key national security agencies such as the CIA, Pentagon and State Department have been hard-pressed to work from home during the pandemic simply because classified documents they need often can be reviewed only in secure facilities, not on a laptop at home.
At the State Department, the “Diplomacy Strong” back-to-work plan for when employees return en masse provides few requirements for temperature checks or social distancing, and masks are encouraged but not required.
That' s inline with Secretary Michael Pompeo's approach to the pandemic—he' s rarely worn am ask in public—and few top aides are seen in them at the State Department. As one of Trump's closest and most fervent supporters, Pompeo seems to be following the lead of President Trump, who has said he doesn't want the media to catch him wearing a mask.
State Department staff have been given three masks that can be washed and reused several times but haven't been told to expect much more.
At the IRS, staff is being provided with hand sanitizer, masks and gloves, though supply levels aren't consistent at different IRS facilities, said Chad Hoop er, an IRS official and president of the Professional Managers Association, which represents the tax agency's managers.
The IRS is also offering incentive pay of 10% to 25% to workers to return, largely to perform work that can't be done at home, either for practical or taxpayer privacy reasons.
But the resumption of work at IRS processing centers hasn't been uniform ly smooth. Days after re opening a facility in Kansas City, Missouri, the IRS had to close it for several days after an employee tested positive for Covid- 1 9. Nonetheless, the IRS plans to order thousands more employees to return to work June 1 in states, including Texas, Utah and Kentucky, that have relaxed lockdowns.