President Donald Trump on Monday signed an executive order requiring federal departments to order employees to return to the office five days a week — a move he previously promised, along with a threat to fire those who don’t comply.
The executive order — one of many Trump signed on Jan. 20 — could affect thousands of civilian federal employees in Kentucky.
“If people don’t come back to work, come back into the office, they’re going to be dismissed,” Trump said during a fall press conference at Mar-a-Lago, his private club and personal residence. Trump at the time also pledged to challenge in court a Biden-era agreement allowing for remote work by Social Security employees.
“Somebody in the Biden administration gave a five-year waiver of that, so for five years people don’t have to come back into the office,” he added. “It’s ridiculous. It was like a gift to a union, and we’re obviously going to be in court to stop it.”
The Social Security Administration and more than 40,000 workers represented by the American Federation of Government Employees union reached a deal last fall that allows most of those employees to continue working remotely two to five days per week through 2029.
Many more of the 2.3 million civilian federal workers could lose their jobs if Trump fulfills other campaign promises to shutter the Department of Education, and overhaul agencies including the Department of Justice and Health and Human Services.
About half of the country’s federal employees work fully in-person, while the other half are eligible for at least some remote work, according to the Office of Management and Budget. About 10% are fully remote.
Here’s a look at what the order could mean in Kentucky.
Trump’s order, signed Monday, is relatively brief:
“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.
“This memorandum shall be implemented consistent with applicable law.”
The American Federation of Government Employees, a union representing about 800,000 federal workers, filed a federal lawsuit Monday against the Trump administration and the Office of Management and Budget to ensure they comply with the Federal Advisory Committee Act.
AFGE National President Everett Kelley told USA TODAY the union will push back.
“What we worked for is not a gift, it’s called negotiation. Telework and remote work are tools that have helped the federal government increase productivity and efficiency,” said Kelley, citing Office of Management and Budget statistics that only 10% of federal workers are in fully remote positions.
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The federal government employs roughly 2.3 million civilians across the country. There are 23,118 federal civilian employees in Kentucky — not including uniformed military personnel or federal contractors, according to the Congressional Research Service, as of December 2024.
Based on OMB figures showing 57% of all federal employees were eligible for remote or hybrid work, it’s possible 13,000 people in Kentucky could be affected. The exact number of federal civilian employees who chose to work remotely in Kentucky last year wasn’t listed in the OMB report to Congress.
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The Social Security Administration has a nationwide staff upwards of 60,000 employees, according to the agency. Numbers from the OMB report show more than 56,300 employees, or about 92% of the Social Security Administration’s total staffing, teleworked in the previous fiscal year.
While it’s unclear how many Social Security employees work remotely in Kentucky, the Social Security Administration’s Atlanta regional office lists 26 Kentucky sites, which include:
The U.S. General Services Administration’s Southeast Sunbelt region manages approximately 1,000 employees at 600 federally-owned and 1,200 other buildings across eight states.
Among the federal buildings in Kentucky are:
Yes, there are a variety of other offices and departments that operate in Kentucky. It’s unclear how many employees work remotely or in person.
The District of Columbia has 162,000 federal workers, California has 147,000, Virginia has 144,000, Maryland has 142,000 and Texas has 129,000.
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John Tufts covers trending news for IndyStar and Midwest Connect. Send him a news tip at JTufts@Gannett.com. Find him on BlueSky at JohnWritesStuff.
