Federal workers have returned to the office in droves after government orders in January
Analysis from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, published Friday, revealed that less than 1 in 5 (~18%) federal government workers spent time teleworking or working at home for pay in April, down from ~31% in the same month last year.
The rate has also nearly halved since January, when the White House formally released a memorandum instructing all government agencies to “terminate remote work arrangements” for federal workers.
The Elon Musk-headed Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has been bullish on getting workers back to the office — or removing them from rosters altogether. But now, we’re seeing government employees that were initially laid off being reinstated and instructed to return to the office.
In recent months, the extensive terminations carried out by DOGE have been challenged by employees, unions, and legal groups, and at least 24,000 of these dismissals have been reinstated by court order, per The Guardian. Indeed, the ~7,000 probationary workers fired from the IRS and Treasury Department in February were then put on administrative leave following court rulings... and have been brought back as of May 23 to work in person full time.
The Elon Musk-headed Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has been bullish on getting workers back to the office — or removing them from rosters altogether. But now, we’re seeing government employees that were initially laid off being reinstated and instructed to return to the office.
In recent months, the extensive terminations carried out by DOGE have been challenged by employees, unions, and legal groups, and at least 24,000 of these dismissals have been reinstated by court order, per The Guardian. Indeed, the ~7,000 probationary workers fired from the IRS and Treasury Department in February were then put on administrative leave following court rulings... and have been brought back as of May 23 to work in person full time.
