The Trump administration issued new guidance late Tuesday evening calling on agencies to “minimize face-to-face interactions” to combat the novel coronavirus, while ensuring the government continues to function.
Acting Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought sent memoranda to heads of departments and agencies to supplement President Trump’s new guidelines on how to slow the spread of the outbreak. Within the next two days, all agencies must review and modify their coronavirus policies. Also, agency leaders must ensure they are able to deliver mission critical functions and other essential government services (such as border protection, postal delivery, air traffic control, medical services and tax collection), he said.
“Exceptions may be needed when continued operations and services are necessary to protect public health and safety, including law enforcement and criminal-justice functions,” wrote Vought, in reference to personal interactions. “Non-mission-critical functions that cannot be performed remotely or that require in-person interactions may be postponed or significantly curtailed. Agency heads have flexibility to realign individuals or work units to higher priority activities.”
The memo calls for maximum use of telework for employees and contractors, re-prioritization of non-mission critical services, communication with customers about potentially delayed services, and streamlining of regulations to approve critical services where appropriate. It also directs agencies to take steps to ensure employees infected with the virus or those most vulnerable don’t enter federal facilities and more.
Despite numerous guidance iterations from OMB and the Office of Personnel Management, many federal employees still fear their agencies are not protecting them from the cor ..
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