A Biden administration appointee agreed to a new contract with a government employee union that will allow tens of thousands of bureaucrats to work remotely for years ahead of President-elect Donald Trump’s return to the White House, according to Bloomberg News.
Recently-departed Social Security Administration (SSA) Commissioner Martin O’Malley signed off on a new deal last week with the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) — which represents about 42,000 SSA employees — that will extend remote work availability into 2029, according to Bloomberg News. The incoming Trump administration and the newly-minted Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), are poised to target work-from-home policies for government employees as part of a broader push to rein in the federal government and eliminate bureaucratic bloat.
The agreement will effectively allow SSA employees to maintain their current levels of remote work through Trump’s term, according to Bloomberg News, which learned of the deal before its public announcement. Currently, SSA employees are required to be in the office between two and five days each week depending on what their specific job is. (RELATED: Most EPA Employees Really Don’t Want To Show Back Up To The Office, Survey Finds)
Social Security Commissioner Martin O’Malley testifies before the Senate Committee on the Budget at the U.S. Capitol on September 11, 2024 in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Anna Rose Layden/Getty Images)
“This deal will secure not just telework for SSA employees, but will secure staffing levels through prevention of higher attrition, which in turn will secure the ability of the Agency to serve the public,” AFGE chapter president Rich Couture wrote in a message to his members reviewed by Bloomberg News.
Labor unions have lobbied the lame duck Biden administration to reach agreements with federal employees before Trump officially takes office in January 2025, according to Bloomberg News.
“Under President Trump’s leadership, the Government Efficiency effort led by Vivek and Elon will target waste and fraud throughout our massive federal bureaucracy,” Trump transition team spokesman Brian Hughes said in a statement shared with the Daily Caller News Foundation. “They will work together slashing excess regulations, cutting wasteful expenditures, and restructuring Federal Agencies.”
Billionaire businessmen Vivek Ramaswamy and Elon Musk, Trump’s two picks to run DOGE, recently wrote in a Wall Street Journal op-ed that a mandatory return-to-office policy across the federal government could induce some federal employees to voluntarily find other work in what would be a welcome development.
It is unclear what the Trump administration may try to do about the new contract upon taking office next month, but moving to unilaterally nix it could initiate a lengthy legal battle, according to Bloomberg News.
Elsewhere in the federal government, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the AFGE locked in a new contract in May, which contains protections meant to allow employees to report scientific misconduct or discuss their work with the press without retribution, according to Bloomberg News. Employees at the Justice Department are also organizing with the National Treasury Employees Union in an effort to be recognized before President Joe Biden leaves the White House.
The SSA and AFGE did not respond immediately to requests for comment.
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