JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Following President Trump’s order requiring thousands of federal workers to return to the office Monday, News4JAX explored its local impacts, specifically whether there would be any major effects at NAS Jax or Naval Station Mayport.
One employee we spoke with is Penelope Hill, who works locally with the United States Department of Veterans Affairs. She already worked in the office, but said she expected employees who were working remotely to simply show up without a fight.
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“Coming from the military [you learn that], a lot of stuff’s not fair,” Hill said. “But you do what you gotta do...It’s just like life. People still got mortgages. People got kids in college. You know, goals. So you gonna do what you have to do.”
News4JAX also reached out to commuters on Facebook about whether they noticed increased traffic around Jacksonville’s major Navy bases and most said no.
“I had no problem with traffic this morning,” said one commenter. “The traffic was okay,” said another. “Normal traffic as always,” said a third.
Some are applauding the move by President Trump to compel workers to come back. That includes retired Adjutant General James Burnett who used to run Florida’s Air Guard. He says in the early 2000’s they experimented with remote working temporarily.
“Years ago we had a situation where we did allow that for a few months. It was very ineffective,” Burnett explained. “A couple of folks were really cooperative. Did they do it as effectively as they could? Probably not. But we stopped it. I don’t think there’s any question that working from home gravitates to a part-time job.”
Nationally, so far more than 60,000 federal workers have accepted buyout offers while a federal judge is considering arguments over the legality of the president’s order.
Meanwhile, workers unions are fighting the legislation, calling it a “sweeping and stunningly arbitrary action to solicit blanket resignations.”
Additionally, a separate discussion is being had for military spouses who are employed by the Federal Government. The Office of Personnel Management noted as part of the Military Spouse Employment Act that some military spouses who do certain types of telework can keep working remotely.