GOP accuses White House of withholding figures on number of federal employees working from home – as staff finally ordered to go back to office

Republicans are accusing the Biden administration of withholding information about telecommuting numbers from federal employees as the White House prepares to end the COVID-era remote work policy.

In a letter Friday to all cabinet heads, Biden’s chief of staff Jeff Zients stated that all federal employees should return to the office this fall after years of working remotely.

“We are returning to personal work because it is critical to the well-being of our teams and will enable us to deliver better outcomes for the American people,” Zients reportedly wrote in the letter, adding that it is a “priority from the president.”

House Republicans wrote separately to the heads of the Biden bureaus on Friday, reiterating their demand for information on exactly how many federal employees continue to work from home three years after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. They say they have been held back by the administration so far.

House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., and Representatives Pete Sessions, R-Texas, and Lauren Boebert, R-Colo.

“One of two options is currently playing out: either federal agencies are withholding information from Congress, or federal agencies are not keeping track of telecommuting and telecommuting policies as required by law. Both possibilities are very concerning,” say Comer, Sessions and Boebert.

They threatened “mandatory action” if the administration did not provide the requested information. This can be done in the form of official summonses.

The Republicans opened their first investigation into the federal teleworking policy of the Biden administration in May.

They look at the occupancy rate of their Washington, DC offices – and as a hint to conserve resources, ask if they have any plans to adjust their “real estate footprint” based on current plans.

The letter references DC Mayor Muriel Bowser’s demand in her inaugural address this year for “decisive action” by the White House to “get most federal employees back to office” or look at the government’s real estate offerings in the city.

Comer cited reports that only a third of federal employees have returned to the office since the pandemic began.

In February, the House passed the SHOWUP bill, which aims to restore pre-pandemic levels of telecommuting.

In the Senate, Senator Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., introduced a companion bill to the SHOWUP Act.

She said, “It’s illogical that VA employees can work from a hot tub when organizations across the country have reopened safely.”

The effort to force more information about the schemes is not new. Republican Senator Ron Johnson, R-Wis., sent similar letters in 2021.

The Biden administration officially ended the COVID-19 emergency in May.

The White House said ending the federal telecommuting policy is a “President’s priority.”

Republicans are threatening “mandatory action” if the administration does not provide the requested information

Republicans slammed Kiran Ahuja, director of Office Personnel Management, at a March hearing on federal telecommuting policies — at a time when agencies are facing retirement and retention issues.

“While COVID is no longer the driver of our workforce decisions, employers have updated tools and knowledge about managing employees in hybrid work environments and the benefits to their customers,” she said.

Ahuja said the policy has had a “positive impact on workplace flexibility in areas such as productivity, engagement and diversification of the talent pool.”

Without explicitly saying that employees are slacking, the letter asks agency heads to “describe the management protocols your agency has implemented to ensure that employees adhere to the terms of a telecommuting agreement or otherwise fulfill their official duties.”