CDC Employees With Medical Conditions Challenge In-Office Requirement

Employees at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention with serious medical conditions have filed complaints after the agency required them to report to the office daily, ending prior work-from-home arrangements granted years before the Covid pandemic.

One employee is a survivor of gastrointestinal cancer who sometimes loses control of her bowels. Another is undergoing breast cancer treatment that leaves her vulnerable to infections. A third has severely limited mobility and experiences excruciating pain.

Before President Trump returned to the White House, many disabled CDC employees, including veterans and uniformed members of the Public Health Service, had permission to work from home. The executive order canceled all existing accommodations for disabilities and required employees to report to physical offices.

The order explicitly allowed for exemptions as needed. The health agency has been particularly strict in abolishing at-home work and overriding accommodations granted long before the pandemic.

Staff Reductions Health Secretary Robert F.

Kennedy Jr. oversaw widespread layoffs last year that reduced the CDC workforce by about 2,400 employees. Among the cuts were officials with the expertise to vet requests for accommodations. Most of the agency’s leaders were also placed on administrative leave or fired.

Hundreds of CDC employees with medical conditions have filed complaints about the in-office requirement with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Their union estimates the complaints will cost the agency about $200 million to address. “It is appalling that this is occurring within our federal government, let alone at an agency that’s supposed to be on the forefront of public health and safety,” said Yolanda Jacobs, president of AFGE Local 2883.