CDC pauses remote work arrangements for employees with disabilities, union says

"In January, the Office of Personnel Management said federal employees would have to return to the office full-time, with the exception of those "excused due to a disability, qualifying medical condition, or other compelling reason certified by the agency head and the employee's supervisor." Then, last month, the Department of Health and Human Services, the parent agency of the CDC, released an updated telework policy that does not include telework as a reasonable accommodation."

"NPR has obtained a copy of a memo with CDC branding from a person who was not authorized to release it. The memo, dated Sept. 16., says the new telework policy no longer includes telework as a reasonable accommodation available to employees. The CDC, it said, will defer to the HHS on how to proceed with disabled employees' telework accommodations, and that, "until additional clarification is received," approvals for any pending requests for remote work accommodations would be "paused until further notice.""

"Members of the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), a union representing over 800,000 federal employees across the U.S., say that the revised policy's lack of clarity around remote work has stoked confusion among staff members with remote-work arrangements as well as their supervisors. Yolanda Jacobs, president of AFGE Local 2883, told NPR on Wednesday that some of CDC's disabled employees are waiting for an answer on whether working offsite remains a reasonable accommodation."

HHS updated its telework policy to exclude telework as a reasonable accommodation and the OPM requirement calls for federal employees to return full-time except those excused for disability, qualifying medical conditions, or other certified reasons. CDC will defer to HHS on how to handle telework accommodations for disabled employees, and approvals for pending remote-work accommodation requests are paused until further clarification. Union representatives report confusion and delayed communication among staff and supervisors about whether existing offsite arrangements remain valid. Some disabled CDC employees are awaiting definitive answers about the status of their accommodations.

Read at Georgia Public Broadcasting