On July 31, 2020 Administrator Wheeler sent an email moving Headquarters to Phase 2 of the agency’s reopening plan (which, by the way, is still subject to ongoing negotiations with NTEU and other unions). What the email failed to mention is that this week’s update to the Facility Status Dashboard indicates that HQ does NOT meet all the criteria set forth in the guidelines. As shown below, none of the indicators for Criterion II is currently met: The 14-day trend of new cases (Goal IIa) is up, the 14-day trend of positive tests (Goal IIb) is not trending down, and the 14-day incidence rate of new cases (Goal IIc) is 141.6, not <10 per 100,000 people.
NTEU has already requested a briefing from EPA management regarding this unsupported change in the still-unnegotiated terms of reopening. In spite of his repeated assurances that employees’ health and safety is his first priority, this move indicates the contrary. Considering our successful implementation of “maximum telework” for the past four months, it is difficult to identify any logical or mission-related purpose for putting more employees and their families at risk, and for disrupting the current implementation that is working so well for so many people.
Please feel free to contact us about your concerns as we continue to fight to protect you and your families from unreasonable risks of exposure to the deadly COVID-19 virus.