Federal Employee Unions, Associations React to Pandemic Response by Agencies

In a letter to agencies on Sunday, Acting Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Russell Vought called upon agencies to offer “maximum telework flexibilities” to all currently telework eligible employees and to utilize all existing authorities to offer telework to additional employees to the extent available due to the COVID-19 outbreak. In light of this news and other agency internal guidances, public employee groups have been speaking up to echo, approve, and criticize the actions of agencies to ensure adequate protections for their members.

In a press release Monday, the American Federation of Government Employees National President Everett Kelley described the OMB guidance as the “most direct action taken to date by the administration” to address the pandemic but continued to note that it failed to “go far enough to protect federal workers and the public.”

The AFGE release notes that the OMB guidance focuses on employees in the National Capitol Region and does not address the 85 percent of federal workers who live and work outside this region.

 In a joint release with the National Federation of Federal Employees (NFFE), the National Association of Government Employees (NAGE), Service Employees International Union and National Nurses United, AFGE also criticized the lack of preparations, planning, and communications so far in response to COVID-19 by the Veterans Health Administration (VHA).

“The VA’s failure to engage their employees and union representatives is disheartening and prevents all VA stakeholders from safeguarding our country’s veterans and employees from the COVID-19 virus,” said David J. Holway, president of the NAGE.

“In the case of this virus, the precautionary principle means doing things like quarantining exposed workers for the full 14 days -- paid! -- even if the preliminary test of the patient comes back negative or ‘indeterminate.’ It means providing equipment that covers your whole head, neck, body -- even if it’s a bit more expensive and will require more education, practice, and staffing to use. It means you go above and beyond, because we really know very little about this virus,” Irma Westmoreland, registered nurse and vice president of the National Nurses United explained.

The groups issued six demands for the VHA to implement in order to combat the virus.

Similarly, the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU) compiled a checklist for the federal government with the recommendation that it “take these steps immediately to protect its employees from the coronavirus and halt community spread in cities and towns across the country.”

The NTEU checklist includes requests to:

·       Expand telework

·       Close government buildings

·       Authorize weather and safety leave for certain non-telework eligible employees

·       Halt all international and domestic travel

·       Make COVID-19 tests available for federal employees

·       Extend the tax filing season

·       Provide basic disinfectant supplies

·       Notify employees once an employee is diagnosed with COVID-19 or asked to self-quarantine due to possible exposure

Chad Hooper, President of the Professional Managers Association, which represents management officials and non-bargaining unit eligible employees at the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), requested similar demands from the IRS, including cleaning supplies and access to telework.

Hooper commended IRS Commissioner Rettig on “making telework available to employees across the Service, expanding paid leave options, and reducing non-essential travel” as well as “empowering employees with the option to avoid all in-person taxpayer contact by a reasonable means.”

“The life of an employee should not be placed in a manager’s hands. We must encourage employees to make thoughtful decisions regarding what in-person contact should be avoided for their health. As the CDC and WHO continue to encourage social distancing, ensuring employees can minimize in-person contact with both other employees and taxpayers is critical to maintaining the health of our workforce and public,” Hooper explained in a statement.

Hooper also called upon Congress to ensure any legislation producing changes to the tax code also be accompanied by adequate investment in resources for the IRS to implement the changes.

Hooper explained, “To drop additional mandates on an already strained workforce during a time of national emergency without adequate resources to implement the mandate, in the midst of tax season, would be irresponsible and cause further confusion in a time when focus and clarity is most needed.”