State Department to Begin First Phase of Returning Employees to DC Metro Area Offices

Officials at the Department of State have revealed to Federal new Network that employees will soon begin the first step in a multi-phased approach to reopening offices and resuming full operations. The agency is “closely monitoring” local conditions in the Washington, DC metro area and expects phase one of its reopening plan to begin Monday, June 15.

The agency’s plan, called Diplomacy Strong, is a phased, conditions-based plan to adjust the number of employees physically working in offices and teleworking based on COVID-19 conditions locally. Phase one relies on a 14-day downward trend in COVID-19 cases based on case numbers in Maryland, DC, and Virginia.

“While department employees have continued working during the pandemic, the Diplomacy Strong program focuses on safely returning our workforce to department facilities as conditions permit,” an official told Federal News Network.

Under phase one, telework is no longer mandatory but the agency will still “strongly encourage maximum use of telework opportunities.”

In a briefing outlining the plan, Dr. William Walters, the deputy chief medical officer for operations with the agency’s Bureau of Medical Services, said “The department, like the rest of the federal government, like the rest of the United States, is on the one hand very anxious to bring people back to the workplace and keep the productivity up, supporting our mandate to the American people, while at the same time balancing risk.”

According to documents outlining the plan obtained by new outlets, phase one could allow up to 40 percent of the agency’s workforce to return to the office, while 40 percent to 80 percent would return in phase two. Phase three would reopen offices to the remainder of employees.