Return to In-Person Work

Federal employees’ guide to the Return to In-Person Work EO

By Michael Rogers, PhD., Sharon Ginley, and Mike Vajda

On January 20^th, 2025, President Trump issued the Executive Order “Return to In-Person Work.” This Order requires that, consistent with applicable law, all Executive Departments and Agencies must direct employees to return to work in-person at their respective duty locations on a full-time basis as soon as practicable, with limited exemptions.¹  On January 22^nd, 2025, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) issued guidance to support implementation of the Executive Order. The Office of Personnel Management issued additional guidance regarding telework provisions contained within collective bargaining agreements. Executive Branch employees may be wondering how this order and guidance affects their telework and remote duty location for remote work.

First, the President’s Executive Order applies to the Executive Branch of the government. Employees of the Judicial and Legislative Branches should look to their own organization management and Human Resources organizations for guidance regarding change in telework and remote work arrangements and practices.

Second, although there is a difference between telework and a remote duty location, the order to return to in-office work applies equally to both types of work arrangements. After government-wide pilots, the Telework Enhancement Act of 2010 established telework options under policies established by each Agency. These policies established eligibility criteria, telework schedules, and the use of telework to support business continuity. In December of 2024, an OPM report to Congress documented 43% of employees utilized telework while 75% of telework-eligible employees utilized telework. Notably, OPM previously reported pre-pandemic participation as 22% of employees and 56% of telework-eligible employees in 2019.

A telework agreement is generally used when an employee is allowed to work from home but is required to report to the office at least once each pay period. The in-person requirement was suspended during the Covid-19 pandemic, as most employees were allowed to work full-time at home for health and safety reasons. While the Federal government declared an end to the pandemic in May 2023, many employees continued to work full-time at home. Employees will know if they are on a telework agreement, as such agreements are created, with additional criteria and requirements, between Supervisors and employees. In addition to limitations established in law, telework agreements can be cancelled at any time. OPM mentions that such cancellations may be subject to meeting terms of the agreement or performance, or business necessity. Agency telework policy and program execution are within the authority of the “heads of Agencies,” establishing vertical authority over Executive Branch telework programs to the President.

If an employee has been approved to work full-time at an alternate work site, i.e., a personal residence, the employee is considered a remote worker. An approval to work at an alternative work site requires agency approval and should be documented on a Notification of Personnel Action (SF-50). This documentation is especially important if the alternate duty location is outside the local commuting area of the employee’s office. The official duty station shown on the most recent Notification of Personnel Action (SF-50), Block 39, indicates the employee’s official duty station.    

Over time, and particularly during and after the pandemic, the line between a teleworker and a remote worker has become blurred, with many employees continuing to work full-time remote. Furthermore, many employees moved out of the local commuting area during the pandemic and are no longer able to report to their former office.  

The directive to return employees to full-time in-person work applies equally to both teleworkers and remote workers, although arrangements will be more complicated for employees who have been approved to work outside the commuting area of their office. Agencies are expected to be in full compliance with the OPM directive by March 2025, for both teleworkers and remote workers.

• Employees who are currently full-time remote (i.e., both teleworkers or remote workers) and are in the local commuting area of their official duty station will be expected to transition to in-person work as soon as the agency directs.  

• Employees who have been approved to work from a remote site with an official duty location more than 50 miles from their Federal office, as documented on an SF-50, will receive instructions to either report back to their Federal office or to an alternate site within their new local commuting area, based on Agency direction. Employees are advised to become proactive and identify Federal agencies with offices in their local area which may be amenable to hosting them on-site. 

Note: Telework agreements have been subject to collective bargaining. With the OPM directives to return employees to the office, many of these bargaining unit agreements are being examined for enforceability as they may interfere with management’s right to assign work and direct its employees. Those covered by Collective Bargaining Agreements should contact their union for guidance regarding “return to in-person work” instructions. To confirm if you are currently in a bargaining unit, see block 37 of your most recent Notification of Personnel Action (SF-50). 

¹OMB and OPM’s guidance instructed agencies to create appropriate discrete categories of exemptions from return-to-office plans

• Military spouses 
• Spouses of 100% disabled or deceased veterans
• Spouses of U.S. Foreign Service members on overseas assignments
• Employees with disabilities or medical conditions
• Other compelling reasons, approved by the employee’s supervisor and head of the agency