Trump administration memo orders federal agencies to track on-site work amid work-from-home crackdown

The Trump administration has told federal agencies to monitor and report occupancy data in public buildings and offices leased by the government, as President Trump presses government workers to stop working from home.

Agencies have until Sunday to begin “utilization monitoring,” according to an Office of Management and Budget memo obtained by CBS News and dated April 21. Agencies can use data from workers’ ID cards, according to the memo, and if that isn’t possible, the General Services Administration suggests daily surveys and collecting laptop data as other options.

The first set of data on office occupancy is due May 19, with reports expected every two weeks after that, the OMB memo states. The office is asking agencies for average daily occupancy figures, as well as annual reports on occupancy rates.

According to the memo, the Trump administration is collecting this data as part of its push to “shrink the Federal real estate footprint to eliminate unused and wasteful Federal office space.” The reports will also be used to “ensure compliance” with Mr. Trump’s return-to-office policy, the OMB said.

Earlier this month, Reuters reported that the Environmental Protection Agency would start tracking employee data to ensure staff is going into the office. 

Hours after taking office, Mr. Trump ordered government agencies to “take all necessary steps to terminate remote work arrangements,” drawing pushback from federal employees’ unions. The move is part of a wider gambit to remake the federal workforce. The Trump administration has sought to cut hundreds of thousands of jobs through a combination of layoffs and buyouts, and the White House said earlier this month it plans to reclassify some workers as “at-will” employees, who are easier to terminate.”