A federal employee union has filed a complaint with the Trump administration over a policy that they say will make it more difficult for workers to obtain reasonable accommodations at work.
Members of the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU) have said changes the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) have made regarding access to telework will “have adverse effects” on employees.
The complaint exemplifies a growing rift between the administration and the federal workforce as federal employees grapple with changes to the workforce.
Newsweek reached out to HHS and the White House by email to comment on this story outside of normal business hours.
Federal agencies must by law provide reasonable accommodations to employees with disabilities, for instance the ability to work from different locations or the provision of helpful technology so that they can carry out their duties.
Last year, it was reported that the HHS made it a requirement for all employees with disabilities to get requests for telework, remote work or other reassignments approved by more senior officials than were required previously.
In a letter sent by NTEU bargaining unit employees in HHS, to HHS, and seen by Newsweek, the union said this policy would “have adverse effects” on employees and would “discourage” them “from seeking telework as a reasonable accommodation.”
The letter said: “The new policy makes significant changes to the current processes and procedures and will have adverse effects on bargaining unit employees. For example, the policy is likely to increase delays in the processing of requests. It also improperly discourages employees from seeking telework as a reasonable accommodation by requiring an employee to obtain approval from higher levels of agency leadership than is required for other forms of accommodation. The policy practically eliminates telework as a reasonable accommodation and removes the discussion of telework from the interactive process.”
They alleged that the change “violates” laws requiring reasonable accommodations and called on HHS “to remedy these violations.”
It comes amid further changes to the federal workforce overseen by President Donald Trump, including issuing an executive order in January 2025 to end remote work for government staff. His administration also implemented hiring freezes and mass layoffs and has encouraged employees to point out examples of fraud, waste and abuse within their departments. Some of these policies are subject to legal challenges.
The union said the agency did not respond to their grievance so the NTEU will seek formal arbitration proceedings, a process in which a labor board will decide whether the agency violated their collective bargaining agreement to negotiate with unions before making policy changes.