President-elect Donald Trump on Monday vowed to fire federal employees who don’t come back into the office, threatening to file a lawsuit challenging a Biden administration labor contract that cemented remote work benefits for thousands of government workers.
“If people don’t come back to work, come back into the office, they’re going to be dismissed,” Mr. Trump said at a press conference at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Palm Beach, Florida.
“And somebody in the Biden administration even gave a five-year waiver of that so that for five years, people don’t have to come back into the office,” he said. “It’s ridiculous. So it’s’ like a gift to the union.”
Mr. Trump was referring to a remote work provision included in a contract negotiation between the Social Security Administration and 42,000 workers represented by the American Federation of Government Employees. That contract locked in workers’ freedom to be in the office for as little as two days a week, depending on the job.
The deal was announced earlier this month and protects telework until 2029.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who is heading up Mr. Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency, has complained about the provision on social media. He has long opposed work-from-home arrangements, saying office workers should have the same rules as factory, maintenance and food service employees.
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• Jeff Mordock can be reached at jmordock@washingtontimes.com.
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