The American Federation of Government Employees is taking steps in the legal process to push back against the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s remote work policy.
The union and the agency previously reached an agreement to let telework-eligible employees work remotely after getting a manager’s approval. But after the negotiations were settled, AFGE said HUD leaders set a workplace policy precedent before considering individual employees’ remote work applications.
Salvatore Viola, president of AFGE Council 222, which represents 5,000 HUD employees, said agency leaders excluded more than 90% of the workforce from applying for remote work opportunities.
“Before the employees even went ahead and applied for the remote work, as per our contract, HUD sent out a preemptive email saying that regardless of [employees’] ability to work remotely, they will not be able to, and they have to come into the office at least twice per pay period,” Viola said in an interview with Federal News Network.
After AFGE filed a grievance in June over the disagreement, the union invoked arbitration on July 27, claiming that leaders at HUD went against the previous agreement.
The arbitration process will involve a neutral, third-party...
Immigration enforcement have made arrests in connection with a suspected criminal network believed to be behind dozens of fake asylum claims from people pretending to be gay. It follows a BBC inve...