Democrats question VA secretary on return-to-office 'disruptions'

A group of 20 House Democrats want answers from Veterans Affairs (VA) Secretary Doug Collins on how President Trump's return-to-office mandate for federal workers is being carried out, citing "deep concerns" the blanket policy is damaging care for veterans.

In a letter to Collins, sent March 28 but released on social media Monday by one of the signatories, Rep. Lizzie Fletcher (D-Texas), the group takes issue with the "lack of clarity" about how the VA is planning to implement having VA employees show up to work in person. 

"Within the Veterans Health Administration (VHA), we have heard from countless stakeholders, veterans and Department of Veterans Affairs employees that by carrying out President Trump's blanket return-to-office policy, your administration is damaging veterans and employing trust in the VA, disrupting and impeding veterans access to care, and creating untenable and inefficient conditions for both veterans and the VA workforce," the lawmakers write. 

"We call upon you to ensure that the policy includes clear exceptions for situations where it is not feasible or reasonable for employees to be in the office 100% of the time," they add. 

On Feb. 3, the VA announced that it would require thousands of department staffers to move back to the office by the end of February, ending remote work implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Then-acting VA Secretary Todd Hunter said the move was a "commonsense step toward treating all VA employees equally," and that most VA clinical staff "don't have the luxury of working remotely, and we believe the performance, collaboration and productivity of the department will improve if all VA employees are held to the same standard."

The lawmakers argue that the Veterans Health Administration has hired thousands of employees into fully remote positions over the last five years, with many in the workforce not located near VA facilities that can offer space for them to work. 

What's more, remote work agreements have allowed the VA to hire more mental health providers who have been able to provide private counseling and care to veterans through telehealth appointments. A return-to-office mandate jeopardizes this provision of care, they write. 

The VA on March 10 made an exception for Veterans Crisis Line workers in its mandate, but the carve-out, the lawmakers say, shows "that you understand there will be negative impacts to veterans' care due to the return-to-office order and that these must be mitigated."

They relay one account from a VA social worker supervisor who, due to space constraints at the facility they were ordered to return to, are being forced to share a 100-square-foot shower with another supervisor as an office space to provide case management for veterans. 

In another case, they say there are reports of clinical resource hub employees, who have worked remotely since they were hired, being forced to work in "cubicle farms" or an open floor plan office. 

"We cannot expect providers offering primary care, mental health, and specialty care services to be able to deliver care ethically and maintain patient privacy when surrounded by other employees who may or may not be clinicians or even VA employees," the lawmakers write.

They argue the issue is taking a toll on VA employees and is "already damaging VA's ability to recruit and retain a strong workforce." They also argue the agency is losing quality providers that remote work has allowed it to hire, "which will damage VAs institutional knowledge and expertise and only further hurt veterans and their access to care."

The group asks Collins to exempt from the new order VA employees who work in Veterans Integrated Service Networks (VISN) hubs — regional systems of care — VISN clinical contact centers, Veterans Health Administration member services, and those in community care coordination.

They also ask Collins to thoroughly evaluate which additional Veterans Health Administration functions or positions would benefit from a return-to-office exemption "to ensure veterans continue to access timely care."