WASHINGTON, DC (The HR Digest) — The DOL has a new mandate in relation to its return to office policy, but it’s not what employees were hoping to hear. The Department of Labor has ordered remote workers back to the office at least five days per biweekly pay period, starting December 1, 2024. The move was originally scheduled to take place starting this year in January however, the NCFLL union resisted the DOL office return policy very vocally.
The National Council of Field Labor Locals (NCFLL) represents almost two-thirds of the Labor Department’s 15,000 employees, and it has accused the Labor Department Acting Secretary Julie Su of refusing to negotiate the return to office policy and having announced a date for the return prematurely.
Private organizations are free to restructure their business and set their rules as long as they meet the Fair Labor Standards Act and other legal regulations required by state and federal legislators. However, this time, the NCFLL has accused one of the regulators of not maintaining these standards and of refusing to negotiate with them in good faith.
According to a document shared by Tully Rinckey PLLC, a law firm with insight into the case, “the new rule will require all non-bargaining unit employees outside of the Washington, DC region and all members of the union to be in the office for five days of a biweekly pay period.” The NCFLL union is resisting the DOL’s office return policy and has an appeal pending with the Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA) in relation to this debate over the policy change.
