More than half of employees at major federal agencies are back working in person, according to new figures compiled by the Biden administration for lawmakers.
The White House found that 1.2 million, or 54 percent, of the 2.28 million federal employees in key departments work “fully on-site” because their jobs require their physical presence throughout work hours, according to the report, first seen by Bloomberg Government.
The Office of Management and Budget, which oversees personnel management across the federal government, collected attendance data from 24 of the largest agencies during two two-week periods in May.
Congress requested the information as part of its efforts to bring workers back to offices and could use the results, particularly in agencies with relatively low workloads, to enforce stricter regulations.
Agency variation
The breakdown of personal attendance figures by agency shows that there are significant differences across departments.
The highest in-person attendance was reported by the Department of Veterans Affairs at 93.7% and the Department of Justice at 91.4%.
The lowest values were recorded by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development with 37.1 percent and the Environmental Protection Agency with 37.9 percent.
The total workforce figures do not include remote employees.
Interactive graphic: The attendance times of federal employees vary by agency.
The Biden administration released these figures after the in-person attendance of government employees had come under increased political scrutiny since the Covid-19 pandemic and the lifting of the state of emergency declared in May 2023.
In January, Republican lawmakers demanded detailed information on how federal agencies are complying with their return-to-office plans. That same month, the White House asked agency leaders to monitor efforts to return government employees to the office, warning that managers were falling short of the administration’s goals for ensuring in-person work.
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In the 24 agencies studied, 1.1 million, or 46.4 percent, of civilian personnel were eligible to telework, and 228,000, or 10 percent, worked in remote positions, the report said. The agencies studied are subject to the Chief Financial Officers Act, which was enacted during President George HW Bush’s administration to improve government financial management.
The OMB report also identified 23.3 million square feet of “underutilized” office space, with annual operating and maintenance costs of $67.2 million. Operating and maintaining government buildings costs about $2 billion, according to the report.
In a statement, the office acknowledged that some federal agencies are still working to meet their workforce presence goals. “OMB looks forward to continuing to work with agencies and Congress in pursuing this goal and welcomes further engagement on the issues discussed in this report.”
Pedestrian traffic in the city center
Teleworking by federal employees has sparked bipartisan concern in Congress. Washington DC’s Democratic mayor, Muriel Bowser, worried about reduced foot traffic downtown, formed an alliance with Republican critics to push for a faster return of government employees to office.
The second spending package for fiscal year 2024, passed earlier this year, included coverage of telework, and ongoing concerns also led to competing bills in the Senate.
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A measure by the Homeland Chairman
(Michael Bloomberg, majority owner of parent company Bloomberg Government, has published an opinion piece calling for more office work for federal employees.)
