Tag Archives: Department of Labor

U.S. government workers can return to offices without vaccine

By Daniel Wiessner

(Reuters) -U.S. government employees should not be required to be vaccinated against COVID-19 before returning to their workplace or made to disclose their vaccination status, according to guidance set to be released by the Biden administration on Thursday.

Workers may voluntarily disclose this information and federal agencies can base their safety protocols, in part, on whether employees are vaccinated, the guidance said.

In a 20-page memo seen by Reuters, the acting heads of three agencies that oversee the federal workforce also urged agencies to consider more flexible arrangements for some employees, including permanent part-time remote work and working outside of normal business hours.

The guidance comes as many U.S. government employees who have been working remotely during the pandemic prepare to return to their offices. It comes on the same day the U.S. Department of Labor issued an emergency rule for protecting workers in healthcare settings.

The federal government employs more than 4 million people, making it the largest employer in the United States. Nearly 60% of federal employees worked remotely during the pandemic, up from about 3% previously, according to Thursday’s memo.

The guidance requires agencies to submit draft proposals by next week and more detailed final plans, including reopening schedules, by July 19.

The memo is signed by the acting heads of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), the Office of Personnel Management and the General Services Administration.

Jason Miller, deputy director for management at OMB, said in a statement that the guidance underscores that worker safety is a top priority as agencies plan to reopen offices.

“This moment in time provides a unique opportunity to look at the federal government’s role as a model employer, as we strive to implement consistent yet flexible government-wide practices that will foster effective, equitable, and inclusive work environments,” Miller said.

The officials also said that agencies’ “eventual post-pandemic operating state may differ in significant ways from (their) pre-pandemic operating state.”

That could mean untethering some workers from physical offices, which would enable agencies to recruit nationwide and share office space while decreasing the amount of time employees spend commuting, they said.

The officials cautioned that agencies may have to bargain with unions before implementing certain policies, such as changes to work schedules and safety protocols. About 30% of federal workers are represented by unions.

(Reporting by Daniel Wiessner; Editing by Noeleen Walder, Bill Berkrot and Leslie Adler)

White House labor task force holds first meeting to help more workers join unions

By Nandita Bose

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The White House labor task force, headed by Vice President Kamala Harris, is set to meet for the first time on Thursday, to promote labor organizing at a time when just over 6% of U.S. private-sector workers belong to unions, according to White House officials and the Department of Labor.

Labor Secretary Marty Walsh will serve as vice chair of the group and will attend the meeting in person, a Labor Department spokesperson said.

President Joe Biden last month signed an executive order to create the task force, whose goals include facilitating worker organizing around the United States, increasing union membership and addressing challenges to labor organizing in underserved communities.

Biden’s executive order directed the task force to devise a set of recommendations within 180 days to address two key issues: How existing policies can promote labor organizing in the federal government, and looking at necessary new policies and the associated regulatory challenges.

Biden is widely considered to be the most pro-union president in decades and has earned praise from the country’s labor leaders. He has moved quickly to oust government officials whom unions deemed hostile to labor and reversed Trump-era rules that weakened worker protections.

The task force, which includes more than 20 heads of agencies and Cabinet officials, including Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, is an extraordinary effort by the president to help reverse the decades-long decline in union membership and power, labor experts said.

Over 65 percent of Americans approve of unions, the most since 2003, according to a 2020 Gallup poll, despite the much lower membership rate.

The labor movement faced one of its biggest setbacks in recent history after an organizing drive at an Amazon.com facility failed earlier this month.

Unions have lobbied for the passage of the Protecting the Right to Organize Act, or PRO Act, which prohibits employers from holding anti-union meetings and imposes penalties for violating workers’ rights. The House passed the measure in March and Biden supports the legislation, but it faces long odds in the Senate.

(Reporting by Nandita Bose in Washington; Editing by Will Dunham, William Maclean)