#telework-policy

#telework-policy

Out of about 780,000 civilians at the Department of War, formerly the Department of Defense, approximately 62,000, or 8%, did not return to in-person work as of July 31, 2025, according to a U.S. Government Accountability Office report. War department officials told the government watchdog that 45,000, or 6%, have deferred resignation status or other exemptions, and 17,000, or 2%, have wavers. GAO released the report, "Civilian Telework and Remote Work: DOD Should Evaluate Programs in Relation to Department Goals," this month.

A policy document that allegedly hasn't been shared with the workforce in its entirety states that all requests for remote work, telework, or reassignment must now be approved by an official at the assistant secretary level or above. In the past, approvals had to be signed by Deputy Assistant Secretary for Human Resources and Chief Human Capital Officer, Thomas J. Nagy Jr. In addition, the new policy bans granting telework as a temporary accommodation without approval from an official at the same level.

In a normal situation, paying employees not to work would be considered operating a 'ghost payroll,' although the CTA was just trying to make the best of it.