President Donald Trump signed an order to temporarily freeze hiring for federal agencies and a mandate for federal employees to return to their offices. It was one of several executive orders signed on his inauguration day.
“I will issue a temporary hiring freeze to ensure that we’re only hiring competent people who are faithful to the American public, and we will pause the hiring of any new IRS agents. We will also require that federal workers must return to the office in person,” Trump said during his inauguration speech.
The mandate affects more than 228,000 federal workers who telework.
Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, leaders of the proposed Department of Government Efficiency, laid out plans in a Wall Street Journal opinion piece in November 2024 for the end to remote work for federal employees. The editorial also included plans for large-scale firings, and cuts to government spending. Ramaswamy has since stepped down.
Here are some questions being asked.
Federal workers are employees of the United States government who work in various departments and agencies across the executive, legislative, and judicial branches. It is the nation’s largest employer.
In November 2024, the federal government employed just over 3 million people, or 1.87% of the entire civilian workforce, according to BLS data, and www.pewresearch.org.
It includes more than 600,000 people who work for the U.S. Postal Service, an independent federal agency with semiautonomous status that operates somewhat like a private business.
“Heads of all departments and agencies in the executive branch of Government shall, as soon as practicable, 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,” Trump’s “Return To In-Person Work” executive action says.
According to the Office of Management and Budget, most federal employees already do work in person. In August, it was reported that of 2.28 million federal workers — 46% were telework-eligible of which only 10% were fully remote.
More:Devastation, dismay overcomes migrants waiting in Juarez to seek asylum in US
Sources: USAToday, Newsweek.
