Republican Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., and Bill Cassidy, R-La., are wondering why employees at the Department of Education are still being allowed to work remotely.
The senators seek to "ascertain the status of the current telework policies," according to a letter sent to Education Secretary Miguel Cardona.
According to the senators, 92% of all eligible Department of Education employees were working remotely and 90% were doing so three or more days a week as of September 2022.
Recently, the Department of Education sent out a letter requiring all non-bargaining unit employees to work on-site at least five days per 14-day pay period. Previously, employees were required to be in the office four days per pay period.
"Your updated policy, which you reportedly stated 'reflect[s] a need for "increased collaboration and innovation,"' appears to require that employees be at work only half the time," Cassidy and Blackburn wrote.
The two senators said the continued remote work policies come at a time when the Department of Education is "failing to fulfill its statutory responsibilities," including issues with the delayed rollout Free Application for Federal Student Aid, causing applications to be down significantly.
"Rather than take responsibility for not adequately communicating with colleges, DOE has attempted to shift blame to schools, which is wholly unacceptable," Cassidy and Blackburn wrote.
The Department of Education has also not done enough to protect students facing antisemitism on school campuses in the wake of Hamas’ Oct. 7 terrorist attack on Israel, the senators charged.
"Your agency would be mired in fewer issues if your workforce were fully present in person," Cassidy and Blackburn said. "We believe it is critical to determine your agency’s current telework policies in order to make informed decisions about DeptEd’s budget."
The senators are asking the department to produce a copy of its email announcing the change to its telework policies, to describe its current telework policies, along with any planned policy changes, to acknowledge if it has conducted any internal studies on remote work and productivity and to explain how the department ensures sensitive data is protected while employees work remotely.
Sam Barron ✉
Sam Barron has almost two decades of experience covering a wide range of topics including politics, crime and business.
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