Protesting Feds Want to Keep Teleworking Long After Pandemic Ended, But Lawmakers Raise Questions

Published on March 27, 2024

Dozens of Department of Labor (DOL) employees showed up outside their offices in the John F. Kennedy Federal Building in Boston, Massachusetts, on March 19, but it wasn’t to perform their official duties; it was to protest and demand more telework time. Their demonstration caught the eye of Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) and Rep. Scott Franklin (R-Fla.), who are now asking some questions that may make the protesters a little uncomfortable. The protesting DOL workers are members of a local chapter of the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), the largest federal employee union. Labor Department officials and AFGE negotiators have been trying for nearly a year to reach an agreement on how many days a week DOL workers nationwide must appear at their official duty stations....

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