White House Releases Guidance on Reopening Federal Agencies
The White House has rolled out its plan to begin reopening the country following the shutdown of non-essential businesses in nearly every state due to the coronavirus pandemic. To go along with guidelines for state, local, and tribal governments and the private sector for reopening the country, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), in conjunction with the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), has released guidance for agencies on actions they may take to return to normal operations while still prioritizing adherence to local advisories.
As the memo entitled “Aligning Federal Agency Operations with the National Guidelines for Opening Up America Again” and signed by OMB Acting Director Russell Vought and OPM Acting Director Michael Rigas explains, “Along with its role in leading response efforts, the Federal government is the Nation's largest employer, with a significant presence and impact in communities across the country. The immediate response to COVID-19 included a calibrated re-alignment of various Federal activities and operations around the country, and operational shifts such as a dramatic surge in Federal workforce telework. Now, in partnership with state, local, tribal, and territorial governments, and the private sector, the Federal government is actively planning to ramp back up government operations to the maximum extent possible, as local conditions warrant, consistent with the National guidelines for Opening Up America Again.”
Once a series of conditions are met by state and local governments, including declining cases and positive tests and proven capacity by local hospitals, state and regional governments will be able to work through a 3-phase process for reopening. Timelines for the activity are entirely dependent on “the ability to control infection levels and maintain a constant decrease over time,” according to the guidance.
For federal employees, the guidance explains that a federal office should “calibrate its transitional strategy to return to normal operations to the Phase of a state, county, region, or metropolitan-area determined by the state assessment.”
To inform agency operating decisions during the reopening, the guidance instructs agency leaders to make decisions based on factors impacting the following operational areas:
Geographic-based decisions
Telework status guidelines
Personnel guidelines
Facilities, service, and operations guidelines
In order to determine the best time to reopen the government federally, OPM and OMB have requested information about operational increases from offices within agencies as they occur.