DOD Issues Guidance for Civilian Personnel Reentry as Omicron Subvariant Spreads
Air Force Staff Sgt. Jack Sanders | Department of Defense
Last week, Department of Defense (DOD) Deputy Secretary Kathleen Hicks issued guidance on the reentry of civilian employees to their normal workplaces but emphasized that business as usual is not expected. Using the innovation and productivity gained through the pandemic's flexible workplace policies, Hicks expressed optimism that the DOD's human capital strategies and personnel policies going forward will incorporate telework.
As part of the guidance, employees will be able to access assistance programs, as well as resources for preparing for employment reentry. The guidance urges supervisors of civilian employees—both those remote working and those with alternate schedules to business hours—to discuss any changes to their telework policies and reentry strategies. Before recalling or adjusting the work schedule of an employee, however, DOD components must give the employee advance notice of 30 days unless the mission is urgent and compelling.
“These last two years have not been easy, but our workforce has consistently risen to the challenge to achieve our mission requirements–we should seek to incorporate those lessons learned as we carry our workforce past this phase and into the future,” noted Hicks.
In a survey conducted by the Pentagon's Office of Inspector General last year, 56,000 members of the DOD workforce overwhelmingly preferred teleworking, despite network problems early in the pandemic.
As the Pentagon prepares for more civilians to reenter the workplace, a new omicron subvariant—BA.2—is currently making the rounds in Europe and Asia. While omicron cases have been on the decline for two months in the United States, Dr. Anthony Fauci, Chief White House Medical Advisor, expects cases to rise again
“The bottom line is we likely will see an uptick in cases as we've seen in the European countries. It does have an increased transmission capability; however, when you look at the cases, they do not appear to be any more severe," Dr. Fauci reported, "I don't see us going back into any more really very strict kinds of restrictions, but you always have to have the flexibility."
Researchers say that because the subvariant is more transmissible, it could eventually become the dominant variant, but it does not appear to cause more severe cases of COVID-19 or to evade vaccinations or previous infections. However, experts fear eliminating masks could give BA.2 an advantage.
President Biden recently used his first State of the Union address to call federal employees back to the office. As reported by FEDmanager, the speech caused backlash among federal employees who fear the administration is simply pushing to reopen to aid the economy, despite the pandemic demonstrating the federal workforce capabilities while teleworking.
The White House also announced this week that, without additional funding approval from Congress, the administration will not be able to fund COVID-19 testing, treatment, and vaccination.
