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The U.S. Health and Human Services Department has quietly rolled out new rules that make it significantly harder for employees with disabilities to get telework approved — changes that unions and attorneys say could leave many workers without support they’ve long relied on.
What Changed
Telework, remote work, and reassignment requests can no longer be approved by a supervisor, according to Government Executive. Every request — including interim accommodations — must now be signed off by an official at the assistant secretary level or higher.
CDC managers have also been told to expect all existing telework accommodations to be revoked, forcing workers to reapply from scratch.
How It Will Affect Workers
The higher approval threshold means slower decisions and months-long delays for employees who depend on telework to safely do their jobs. CDC already faces a six- to eight-month backlog, and without interim accommodations, workers must report in person or use leave until their cases are reviewed.
Attorneys warn that requiring reapplications from people with clear, documented disabilities could violate federal law and open the door to discrimination complaints. Union leaders say the new rules ignore medical guidance and put vulnerable employees at risk.
A Broader Crackdown
This aligns with the Trump administration’s push to sharply limit telework across government. Other agencies, including Veterans Affairs, are also tightening disability-related telework approvals.
For disabled federal workers, the message is clear: getting telework is now harder, slower, and less certain — at a time when many rely on it to stay healthy, safe, and employed.
