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Tentative agreements on remote work (Update: these agreements were ratified!)

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Here are links to download the tentative agreements on remote work between the union & CFPB management, subject to ratification of the union membership by Aug. 18, 2022. We're also providing a list of frequently asked questions on these agreements with their answers.

Update: these agreements were ratified and are now articles that should be followed by both CFPB management and by all bargaining unit employees.

Download the tentative agreements

Table of contents:

Solidarity won big again!

We want to thank you all for your solidarity with each other during this uncertainty to fight for these wins together. We want to give a special thanks to all the members of our bargaining team, subject matter experts, stewards, communications and organizing committees, historians and observers who have been volunteering incredible amounts of their time, energy and expertise to make this possible. And we want to thank all of YOU members. This win was only possible because so many of us mobilized, took action, and demanded the Bureau let us work where we want!

Summary of what's in the tentative agreements:

A much more detailed comparison of the tentative agreement with the original Union and Management proposals is available in these slides (508-compliant PDF version of the comparison is here).

  • Location
    • Proposed objective criteria for designating positions as remote, telework primary, or office primary
    • Proposed objective criteria for evaluating telework requests and determining how many days a person is eligible to telework
    • Streamlined process for examiners to transfer to another region
  • Work schedules
    • Creates new 4/10 Flex schedule; includes 5/4/9 Flex schedule
    • Proposed objective criteria for approving work schedules
    • Management agrees to regularly provide data to NTEU on race/gender/age of employees whose work schedules are denied approval
  • Who decides where and when to work?
    • Management agrees that decisions about who can be remote, who can telework and how frequently, and whether someone who is not eligible for remote work can get temporary approval for remote work will be based on objective criteria spelled out in the agreement. The limited number of duties which management may require to be done in person are clearly defined in the agreement.
  • Privacy & surveillance
    • Management removed new overreaching "audit" authority language
    • No language implying managers could use Teams to determine whether you were working

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

  1. Will we be able to challenge or appeal management’s work location designation decisions?

    Yes. Management is required to provide NTEU with a spreadsheet of the work location designation eligibility for each PD at the same time it provides this information to employees. In addition to the work location designation, for any position not designated as eligible for a Remote designation, management must identify the duties of the position (if any) that must be performed onsite. NTEU can then use the grievance process to challenge and designations it believes do not comply with the terms of the agreement. (Remote, Telework, and Hybrid Program Article, Section 4.C.1)

  2. If I split my time exactly 50-50 between an office and my telework location, am I office primary or telework primary? And what does this look like with the different work schedules?

    You are considered office primary if you work in the office 50% of your time or more. So an exact 50-50 split counts as office primary. Telework primary is a schedule that is more than 50% telework. For the “standard” 5-day work-week (the “gliding schedule” under the Work Schedule article)--which has 10 working days per pay period–that means 5 days in the office, and 5 days teleworking. For 4/10 schedules–which have 8 working days per pay period–that means 4 days in the office and 4 days teleworking. For 5/4/9 schedules–which have 9 working days per pay period–that means 4.5 days in the office, and 4.5 days teleworking. For any other Custom Schedule that means 40 hours in the office and 40 hours teleworking per pay period.

  3. If I choose to telework some of the time, but not 100%, do I have to come into the office on the same days every week?

    Yes, you will have a specific schedule for the days you come into the office and the days you telework, just like the pre-pandemic routine telework arrangements.

  4. I like the office I currently have and would like to keep it. Can I?

    Unfortunately, the space reallocation that will occur after the work location designation process is complete will start from a blank slate so you cannot guarantee your current office or workstation.

  5. What happens to people who are currently designated remote or home duty-stationed?

    People who are currently home-duty stationed are entitled to a Remote Work Location Designation. Employees who are currently home-duty stationed within the Washington, D.C. locality pay area will be permitted to remain in their home duty station, and examination staff whose current home duty station does not meet the requirements of the Employee-Initiated Requests for Change in Duty Station Article will be permitted to remain at their current location or to move within 30 miles of that location without having to comply with the new requirements (Sections 4A.4.g and 4A.4.i of the Remote, Telework, and Hybrid Program Article).

  6. Will we be able to change our mind about the work location designation we pick?

    Yes. Section 4D of the Remote, Telework, and Hybrid article allows employees to choose a new work location at any time. The process for making that choice is contained in the Employee-Initiated Requests for Change in Duty Station article.

  7. Can the team provide examiner-specific info or provide an examiner-specific town hall?

    The only examiner-specific part of the agreement is the provision about where new examiner duty stations may be located. If you have questions about how that provision or any other part of the Agreement applies to your specific situation, you should reach out to one of your stewards with your questions.

  8. Can you explain the 3 frequented destination airports requirement?

    • The new examiner duty station rules have specific requirements all of which must be met at the time the examiner makes the request to relocate
      • Airport: the proposed duty station must be within a 90 minute commute of a large or medium hub airport or one of the small hubs identified in the Employee-Initiated Requests for Change in Duty Station article
      • Frequented Destination Airports: that airport must have flight options to three “frequented destination” airports within the employee’s assigned region.
      • Flight Options: those flight options must not require an employee to begin travel (i.e. leave their home duty station to go to the airport) before 6 am or after 10 am local time and must allow the employee to travel from their home duty station to the “frequented destination” airport(s) within 6 hours.
    • The Frequented Destination Airports are determined by OSE based on travel patterns in the Region (based on data from Concur), so the Frequented Destination Airports in a region might change from year to year depending on what exams take place in a given year. For at least the first year of the agreement the frequented destinations for each region are:
      • Northeast Region: New York, NY, Boston, MA, and Pittsburgh, PA
      • Southeast Region: Atlanta, GA, Dallas, TX, and Charlotte, NC
      • Midwest Region: Chicago, IL, Minneapolis, MN, Cleveland, OH
      • West Region: San Francisco, CA, Los Angeles, CA, Denver, CO

  9. How long will these articles last? Will the upcoming CBA negotiations affect how long they last?

    The duration of this agreement is set forth in Article 47 of the CBA. It will be in effect for a period of 4 years and can be renewed for additional one year unless either notifies the other party of its intention to re-open, amend, modify or terminate the Agreement.

  10. Will there be any more changes to the agreements?

    Only if these tentative agreements are rejected. Chapter members will be able to vote on whether to ratify the agreements from August 9-18 either online or at a formal chapter meeting on the 18th. Once ratified by the Union, Dir. Chopra gets a final review and could reject some or all of the agreement, but that is unlikely because the management bargaining team clears all offers with the Director’s office before presenting them in bargaining. Once Dir. Chopra signs the agreements, they will be final agreements and will go into effect.

  11. Do I get to pick my work location designation or is management going to choose for me?

    Management will have 45 days from the date the agreements go into effect to assign which work location designation(s) each position description (PD) is eligible for. That assignment process will be guided by objective criteria tied to the job duties and business needs of each PD. The criteria for what types of job duties require in-person work can be found at Section 5E of the Remote, Telework, and Hybrid Program article. You will then get to choose from the options that your position description is eligible for. Frequency of telework will be determined by the extent to which the employee’s position requires them to perform job duties in-person at a Bureau facility or other location. Examples of such in-person job duties or responsibilities include:

    • Compliance with Privacy Act, security, or health/safety requirements that cannot be adequately addressed at an alternate worksite (e.g., access to material that is only available at a Bureau Facility, may not be removed from the Bureau Facility, and/or is not accessible by computer from the alternate worksite);
    • Responsibility for security or building operations of CFPB Facilities;
    • Facilities or equipment to perform the job that cannot be made available at the alternate worksite (e.g., hands-on contact with machinery, high-volume printing or photocopying);
    • Face-to-face contact (with other employees, internal Bureau customers, external stakeholders, etc.).

  12. How do I find my current Position Description (PD)?

    You can see every PD in the Bureau on HRConnect; click "Reports", then "Position Description Library for Employee" (top right). You can find your position number in HRConnect too.

  13. Which work location designation will I get to choose?

    We don’t know yet, because management needs to evaluate each position and compare the duties in the position description to the objective criteria contained in the agreements (Section 5E of the Remote, Telework, and Hybrid Program article) to determine eligibility. Based on statements from management’s team during negotiations, the bargaining team expects that very few PDs will be designated as “office primary”. In other words, the bargaining team expects that most Bureau employees will be eligible to telework over 50% of the time and that many more people will have the option to be remote than before.

  14. If I want to work from home all 10 days in a pay period, will I be “100% telework” or “remote”?

    It depends on your position description and/or where your Alternative Worksite (most likely your home) is geographically located. If your position is eligible for remote work, and your Alternative Worksite is within the locality pay area of the Bureau office to which you would normally be assigned, then you would be limited to the 100% telework designation. If it is outside that locality pay area then you would be considered remote. (For example, if you would normally be assigned to headquarters and want to work from your home in Arlington, VA, you would be 100% telework because Arlington is inside the DC pay locality area. If instead your home is in Cleveland, OH, you would be remote because you are outside the DC pay locality area.) OHC might also determine that your position is not eligible for remote work, but is eligible for 100% telework. This can happen when your job duties do not require you to regularly report to the office, but do require that you report occasionally on an ad hoc basis. (For example, to run large print jobs that require the use of high–capacity copy machines or to assist with large in-person events.)
    The official definitions of each locality pay area in the country are available at OPM’s website here: https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/pay-leave/salaries-wages/2022/locality-pay-area-definitions/

  15. Which locality pay will I receive?

    Your locality pay is determined by your official duty station. If you are office primary then your official duty station will be one of the five Bureau offices and you will receive the locality pay associated with that office. If you are telework primary (including 100% telework) your duty station will still be one of the five Bureau offices, but you will be approved to work from an alternate worksite (most likely your home). Therefore you will receive the locality pay of the Bureau office to which you are assigned, just like office primary employees. If you are remote, then your official duty station is your alternate worksite (again, probably your home). Therefore you will receive the locality pay associated with the location of your home.

  16. If I’m 100% telework or remote will I have to come into an office?

    Under the agreement 100% telework positions may need to perform work duties in an office “occasionally or on an ad hoc basis” while remote positions “rarely” need to. For either designation, supervisors are expected to provide at least two (2) business days’ notice when calling an employee to a Bureau office to perform work duties.

  17. Are there any restrictions on where a remote designated employee can live/work?

    Yes, your alternate worksite must be in the lower 48 states. Despite repeated requests from the bargaining team, management has not explained why Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, and other US Territories are unacceptable, even though we already have colleagues who live and work successfully in these places.

  18. What if I moved during the pandemic and my situation doesn’t exactly match the requirements in the agreements?

    If you made a move during the long period of mandatory telework and you are not eligible for a remote work location designation, then you may need to move back near the office. If you are eligible for (and want to take advantage of) 100% telework, you will need to live within the locality pay area of your assigned office. If you are office primary or telework primary, you will need to live close enough to be able to report to the office as required, and no less than 2 days per pay period if you live outside the locality area.

  19. Does all of this apply to examiners?

    Yes, all of the provisions of the agreements apply equally to all bargaining unit employees unless stated otherwise. For example, Section 4 of the Employee-Initiated Relocation article was specifically negotiated to create a process for examiners to change regions.

  20. What about examiner travel?

    Though the bargaining team tried to address examiner travel multiple times, management refused to bargain over it during these negotiations, claiming it was outside the scope. However, management has claimed in other places that a pilot program for voluntary examiner travel will be rolled out sometime later this year. Chapter leadership and the bargaining team are watching carefully to ensure employees have a say in any change to these policies.

  21. What about health and safety?

    Management again refused to negotiate health and safety for Bureau offices or exam sites, claiming it was outside the scope. Management initially said they would negotiate a separate memorandum of understanding in conjunction with the tentative agreements on CFPB Flex, but then walked that back. They are only willing to “memorialize in writing” what their current pandemic policies are, but won’t even guarantee that those policies will stay in place. Management’s position is that pandemic safety is covered by the Health & Safety Article of the CBA, and that because they are following the guidance of the CDC and Safer Federal Workforce Taskforce, they are complying with the CBA. NTEU disagrees and will continue to push management to negotiate in good faith.

  22. What will happen with offices and parking spaces?

    A new round of office space allocation and seat selection will take place after everyone chooses their preferred work location designation. Only office primary employees will be assigned a seat within the CFPB facility to which they are assigned. All other employees will use hotel space as needed. The space prioritization principles are much the same as they have been in past seat selections and will also carry over to the type of office hoteling employees can reserve. At HQ, the parking garage will offer monthly parking spaces to office primary employees. Other employees can reserve parking as needed at a rate of $7/day if there is space available.

  23. If I am telework primary or remote, will I get office equipment?

    Yes, you will be provided with standard office equipment including a laptop, laptop charger, mobile phone, mobile phone charger, laptop bag, monitor(s), docking station, mouse and keyboard. If you are remote or 100% telework, you can also request a printer, shredder, & locking file cabinet if you want/need to. Remote and 100% telework employees are also eligible for chair/desk reimbursement every 4 years under Article 8, section 11 of our CBA.

  24. How long is this all going to take?

    The target completion date for assigning work location designations to each PD and allowing each employee to pick one is October 31, 2022. Once that process is done, the Bureau will have 30 days to adjust everyone’s paperwork as necessary. It will also have 90 days to do the space reallocation and seat selection, including time and resources to permit people to move to new offices or pack up their old ones to shift to a telework primary or remote worksite.

What happens next?

  • Electronic voting to ratify the agreement will open on August 9, 2022 at 12 am ET. We will also host a members-only Town Hall on August 18 to discuss what's in the agreement and how to cast your vote for ratification.
  • The ratification vote will close after our Chapter Meeting for dues-paying members on August 18. Invite coming soon! The voting window will close on that day, August 18 at 11:59 pm PT (Pacific Time to accommodate our West Coasters).
  • Once ratified, the next step is "Agency Head Review," when CFPB’s lawyers will review its exact phrasing for compliance with the law.

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