"The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention this week is pausing all long-term work-from-home accommodations, including for employees with disabilities, according to an internal note reviewed by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The move comes after the CDC's parent agency, the Department of Health and Human Services, issued an updated policy in mid-August removing telework as a "reasonable accommodation" option for employees. On Tuesday, the CDC posted an official announcement in an internal publication detailing HHS' updated telework policy. The CDC's Office of Human Resources requested clarification regarding the new policy, according to the note."
"Two unions representing CDC employees are condemning the move, saying it "violates the civil rights of federal workers with disabilities." "This represents the most sweeping civil rights violation against federal employees in decades," two chapters of the American Federation of Government Employees said in a statement Wednesday. The unions said they are exploring "every legal remedy and recourse to prevent or reverse" these changes."
"In response to questions about the policy, an HHS spokesperson said the CDC is currently adhering to the department's telework policy and President Donald Trump's January executive order requiring all departments and agencies in the executive branch to "take all necessary steps to terminate remote work arrangements and require employees to return to work in-person at their respective duty stations on a full-time basis, provided that the department and agency heads shall make exemptions they deem necessary.""
The CDC has paused approval of all long-term telework arrangements, including reasonable-accommodation telework for employees with disabilities, while awaiting clarification from HHS. The pause follows an HHS policy change in mid-August that removed telework as a "reasonable accommodation" option. The CDC's Office of Human Resources requested clarification and announced the pause in an internal publication. Two unions representing CDC employees condemned the pause as a civil rights violation and said they are pursuing legal remedies. An HHS spokesperson said the CDC is following department policy and a January executive order directing agencies to terminate remote work arrangements with possible exemptions.
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