Amid latest COVID surge, CFPB extends maximum telework until November 6th and withdraws its July proposals to remove protections

This message was sent on August 6, 2021 to all bargaining unit employees and copied to the Director of Human Capital and the COVID-19 Coordination Team lead.

Dear colleagues,

I received this message from CFPB Labor Relations today and I wanted to inform you as soon as possible:

The Acting Director has decided to extend the Bureau’s current posture (including all current Covid flexibilities) through November 6, 2021.  As such, the Bureau will be withdrawing its proposals related to the “Proposed Posture through January 1, 2022” document shared with you on July 12, 2021.  This will cease any negotiations we’ve had over our proposals sent on July 12, 2021 and any proposals you sent on July 26, 2021.

We will continue to meet with you and your team weekly to discuss Health and Safety related issues, re-entry, and the Bureau’s operating posture after November 6, 2021.

CFPB’s previous proposal, referenced above, was to extend maximum telework through at least the end of December, and to begin rolling back almost all COVID-19 protections in CFPB offices in September. While my initial response is relief that current protections are not going away in September, I am concerned about the decision to extend max telework and other protections like COVID-19 Admin Leave only through November 6. This obviously creates uncertainty for employees about what comes next (especially for those of you with family members in school or college, as this date is in the middle of school semesters). 

This pandemic brings enough uncertainty to our lives. Extending maximum telework and all COVID-19 protections through at least the end of the year until a longer-term remote work and safety policy is in place, will help all of us to stay safe and focus on doing our jobs effectively. The Union Health and Safety Committee has been advocating for a policy on COVID-19 protections that follows the CFPB Pandemic Plan, and is based on employees’ needs for safe, stable working conditions in a pandemic that we know will not be over in three months. We continue to meet weekly with management and will share more information about this latest update at www.nteu335.org/covid19.

Please reply to [email protected] with your thoughts on this announcement, and we also encourage you to contact the executives responsible for making these recommendations to the Acting Director: Jeffrey Sumberg of Human Capital ([email protected]) and Marty Michalosky of the COVID-19 Coordination Team ([email protected]).

Signed,

NTEU 335 Chapter President Catherine Farman