Federal Managers Voice Concern Regarding COVID-19 Guidance

A coalition of associations representing government managers wrote a letter to the Safer Federal Workforce Task Force expressing concern over a lack of proper guidance and clear-cut lines of communication for implementing COVID-19 testing and vaccination requirements. The Government Managers Coalition (GMC) consists of the five major federal-sector executive and management professional associations, collectively representing more than 250,000 federal managers.

According to the letter sent in August, the Office of Personnel Management, Office of Management and Budget, and White House have failed to specifically address the unique needs and requirements of federal supervisors, managers, and executives. The letter explains that these federal management officials retain the primary responsibility for implementing COVID-19 policy guidance, namely the Biden Administration’s effort to collect vaccination information from all federal employees and impose testing requirements for those who choose to remain unvaccinated or refuse to disclose their vaccination status.

GMC members argue their members will ultimately bear the brunt of challenges related to enforcing these orders and be subject to personal legal risk as they attempt to fill gaps in the guidance.

“Some agencies at the component level are doing a good job of engaging our organizations and supporting their management cadre; however, the GMC believes that the Biden-Harris Administration must do more to prioritize and focus on the needs of all federal employees. It is critical that the Administration engage with all stakeholders, but most importantly the federal managers who are responsible for overseeing and implementing the President’s Executive Orders on a daily basis. We urge the Administration to remind agencies to honor, and pursue new, Part 251 agreements with federal management and employee associations, as last occurred in April 2016,” the letter explains.

Further, the letter outlines existing challenges managers have faced in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic. Managers’ report devoting 10-12 hours a day on lower grade work in addition to their assigned duties to make up for staffing and safety requirements of COVID-19. Consequently, the associations have seen managers voluntarily downgrading their positions, returning to bargaining-unit eligible line roles, or simply putting in paperwork for retirement and in some cases disability to lighten their load.

In a media release on the letter, Senior Executives Association’s President, Bob Corsi critiqued a “constant disconnect between guidance coming from the center of government and implementation on the front lines.” Corsi urged for a new approach which prioritizes federal leaders.

David Lescarini, President of the National Council of Social Security Management Associations, noted a lack of coordination and inconsistent guidance may have an adverse effect on benefits. “Our managers are already responsible for increased workloads due to the pandemic and enforcing this policy potentially adds more to their plates without additional resources or tools to assist them,” Lescarini explained.

The Federal Managers Association expressed support for the Administration’s aims but echoed concerns about their implementation.  Federal Managers Association (FMA) President, Craig Carter, explained,
“FMA supports the Administration’s goal to maintain a healthy and effective workforce to deliver on behalf of the American people. Tasking managers with standing up a public health testing structure and a system for keeping personal health data private, is asking a great deal from agencies from across government with no prior expertise in this area.”

Professional Managers Association Executive Director Chad Hooper furthered, “At the IRS, this lack of central coordination has had a real impact on employee health and safety. Our managers and supervisors are dedicated public servants, but they are not health policy experts. They are not equipped or trained to carry the weight of their employees' health and no one at the IRS should be in a position of balancing employee health with accomplishing our mission. We need clear guidance, meaningful support, and evidence-based policy to beat this pandemic.”

The group’s letter posed a series of questions and concerns related to pandemic procedures expressed by members for the Administration to consider.