November 2021 Update
News on the flexible work options front.
DOJ will maintain its maximum telework flexibility for the rest of the calendar year, and is “planning to implement revised workplace policies early in 2022.” We’re encouraged to read that DOJ plans to “capitaliz[e] upon what maximum telework has taught us to increase flexibility, support employee satisfaction, promote retention, and further diversity, equity, and inclusion.” We’ll share anything more we hear about any steps that specific components are taking, and we ask you to keep us in the loop about anything you hear as well.
On November 16, OIG issued a 50-page report on the top management and performance challenges facing DOJ. In it, OIG linked to DOJ GEN's letter to JMD requesting that it urge components to implement flexible work options: “Although Department leadership has not yet announced post-pandemic policies governing workplace flexibilities, there appears to be strong support among DOJ employees for the continued use of enhanced workplace flexibilities.”
Cool, right? (We didn’t even ask them to include it. I swear.) OIG also noted that while “DOJ has long lagged behind other federal agencies in allowing many workplace flexibilities,” maintaining flexibilities like telework and alternate work schedules “will likely enhance the Department’s ratings in the 2020 Federal Employment Viewpoint Survey data.” Yep—we agree!
On November 12, OPM issued its first guidance on telework and remote work in a decade. It encourages agencies to make both accommodations available on a widespread and permanent basis. In a memo accompanying the 79-page guidance, OPM Director Kiran Ahuja noted that “agencies now have an opportunity to revisit how they were operating prior to the pandemic and leverage lessons learned to integrate telework and remote work into their strategic workforce plans.” OPM also created a new “Future of Work” website with neat resources for agencies and feds.
Vaccine-related administrative leave.
We got what we’ve been asking for!
For weeks, we’ve been urging DOJ leadership to notify the entire Department that DOJ must grant feds up to four hours of administrative leave during work hours to get each COVID-19 vaccine dose or to accompany any family member getting one, and should grant up to two days of admin leave if an employee has an adverse reaction to any dose. Too many employees didn’t know about this important accommodation because, in many cases, no one ever told them about it.
Deputy Attorney General Monaco recently sent an email to notify the entire Department about their rights to this admin leave. Many thanks to the small group of DOJ GEN members who got the problem fixed in the Civil Rights Division and then worked on convincing leadership to get the word out to the whole Department!
New White House-imposed deadline for DOJ to create a DEIA strategic plan.
On November 23, the White House issued a 23-page document called the Government-Wide Strategic Plan to Advance Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility in the Federal Workforce.
The document guides agencies on how they should develop and implement their new DEIA plans, as President Biden’s June 2021 Executive Order on the same topic requires. There’s a lot of great stuff in the guidance, including directives on pay equity and sexual harassment policies.
By March 23, 2022, every agency must develop a strategic plan that addresses how it plans to advance DEIA within in its workforce. DOJ GEN is planning to urge DOJ to include in its strategic plan a ban on using salary history in hiring, revamped sexual misconduct policies, expanded flexible work options, and strong new diversity measures.
OPM expands survivor benefits to more same-sex spouses of federal employees.
It wasn’t that long ago when the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) prevented spouses in same-sex marriages with a federal employee from receiving survivor benefits after their spouse died. Even after the Supreme Court struck down DOMA in 2013, some same-sex spouses were still denied survivor benefits because many state marriage bans remained valid for two more years.
On November 17, OPM published a notice expanding survivor benefits to individuals who were stuck in this loophole. You can read the important details about this new coverage and the reasons why it’s necessary here, and learn about the courageous person who was stuck in this predicament and sued the federal government over it here.
If you or someone you know was affected by this loophole, OPM is preparing a form individuals can use to apply for survivor benefits.