By Anita Hamilton

A two-sentence memorandum signed by President Trump on Inauguration Day has set the stage for what could be a protracted battle to bring federal workers back to the office. While some may return relatively quickly, others will likely be able to maintain the status quo. The question is for how long.

How this directive gets implemented "is going to be very nuanced and vary agency to agency," said George Washington University law professor Aram Gavoor. For individual government workers, it comes down to whether they are represented by a union and the specific terms of each union's collective bargaining agreement.

What the Directive Says

The Return to In-Person Work memo doesn't require federal workers to return to the office; the president has no direct authority to order that. "The president actually has very few directly delegated authorities," says Nicholas Bagley, a law professor at the University of Michigan and former special counsel to Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.

Instead, the memo instructs heads of departments and agencies in the executive branch to "take all necessary steps to terminate remote work arrangements and require employees to return to work in person." It also comes with at least three major caveats: There is no specific deadline, exemptions are allowed, and implementation shall be "consistent with applicable law."

Currently, about half of the 2.3 million federal civilian workers work full-time in office, with another 10% fully remote, according to a May report from the Office of Management and Budget. Of those eligible for telework, 61% of their working hours are spent in the office.

Why Union Representation Matters

More than a million federal civilian workers are represented by unions. The biggest are the American Federation of Government Employees $(AFGE)$, which represents some 800,000 workers in the federal and D.C. governments, and the National Treasury Employees Union, which represents another 150,000 workers.

Federal workers who aren't represented by collective bargaining agreements or whose contracts don't allow them to be fully remote or telework will likely return to the office the fastest.

Others, such as the 2,800 Education Department workers represented by the AFGE Local 252 that just renewed its contract for another five years, are likely to put up a fight. Most of those workers are currently remote. As part of their new contract, anyone already on a remote agreement who lives more than 50 miles from their duty station can continue to do so.

The union's president, Sheria Smith, previously told Barron's that the union would try to negotiate, then file a grievance, if a broad return-to-office policy was enacted.

The Legal Battle Ahead

Unions can't be ignored, says David Super, a law professor at Georgetown Law. "They have a lot of power if the administration doesn't bargain with them." Any attempt to alter the terms of an existing agreement must be bargained in good faith. If the agency disregards the contract, the case could be litigated as a breach of contract in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims.

If the agency seeks to change the contract, adds Super, that could be addressed through administrative procedures or end up in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.

Rather than one court case resolving the return to office directive, "it will be separate battles involving separate workplaces," adds Super. That is because there are various union contracts in place for the federal workforce, based on which agency employees work for. Unions' skill and assertiveness in opposing the measures will also affect the outcome, he added.

AFGE has signaled it's ready to resist the directive. "I encourage the Trump administration to rethink its approach and focus on what it can do to make government programs work better for the American people," union President Everett Kelley said in a statement released shortly after Trump signed the directive.

Write to Anita Hamilton at anita.hamilton@barrons.com

This content was created by Barron's, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. Barron's is published independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.

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January 21, 2025 17:29 ET (22:29 GMT)

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