NIH Prepares for the Return to the Office
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Throngs of NIH’ers will soon descend on NIH’s Bethesda campus and other NIH facilities across the country, adding to the many who already have been working on site. By executive order, most federal employees will return to the office in-person, 5 days a week.
Based on HHS guidance sent to all staff: on Feb. 24, all managers and supervisors within 50 miles of their official duty station began reporting to the office. On March 17, HHS employees whose official duty station is within 50 miles of an HHS facility will begin reporting in-person, full time. By April 28, all managers, non-bargaining unit employees, and bargaining unit employees, including those who were hired on remote job announcements, who have an official duty station outside of 50 miles of an HHS facility, will report to an office. HHS will provide details as real estate efforts develop.
An exception to the policy may be granted to employees who are approved with a reasonable accommodation due to disability or qualifying medical conditions.
Equipment
NIH’s Office of Information Technology recommends evaluating IT equipment needs prior to returning to work to ensure enough equipment is available. Check with your team/supervisor to see if you are required to bring any IT equipment back to the office that may have been taken home for telework purposes, such as monitors, printers, docking stations, keyboards, mice, PIV card readers and cables.
Commuting
If you anticipate needing a parking permit or transit benefit, contact the NIH Parking Office at nihparkingoffice@ors.od.nih.gov.
Before applying for commuter benefits, your worksite designation must be updated in the NIH Enterprise Directory (NED). For assistance verifying or updating your NED profile, contact your administrative officer.
NIH staff can access the latest transition guidance on the intranet (must be on VPN) at https://go.nih.gov/G9vBBRW.
Stay tuned for updates and resources as this story unfolds.