Monday morning musings for workplace watchers
RTO for the DOL | Pay for the Disabled
Rebecca Rainey: U.S. Labor Department employees are scheduled to begin getting back to in-office work next week, after multiple delays in the agency’s return plans for its roughly 15,000 workers across the country.
The department will allow staff to return at 50% capacity starting Feb. 28, according to an email sent to agency staff on Friday, a copy of which was shared with Bloomberg Law. Workers in positions “performing critical functions,” or in jobs “that must be” or “are better performed onsite,” are permitted to go into the office, according to the agency.
The department is now only permitting up to 25% of staff to report in person—and only if they’re conducting “mission-critical work” that can’t be done via telework.
Field staff for DOL’s enforcement agencies, like the Wage and Hour Division, have already returned to work, according to the department, although their duties are largely outside the office.
“As more workers are returning to their workplaces, we also continue to increase our worksite presence,” Acting Wage and Hour Administrator Jessica Looman said in a statement.
The agency will allow staff to return at 75% capacity starting at the end of March, and plans to allow up to 100% of its workforce back starting May 2.
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