Debra’s daughter has worked in the mailroom of a division of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) for 20 years. She is developmentally disabled, and she supports her sister who also has a disability. And even as many of her colleagues were asked to telework this week, she was not told she could stay home, and she had to come in.

So early this week, in the midst of calls from health officials to limit the use of public transportation, she took the Metro to work. When she got there, she had almost nothing to do.

“The floor that she delivers mail on is totally empty, so she’s sitting there very bored,” said Debra. “It’s like she’s forgotten.”

[Read the latest updates about coronavirus in our region here]

WAMU is not using Debra’s last name, or her daughter’s name, because they worry they may face retaliation for speaking to the press.

HHS confirmed to WAMU late Thursday that it had transitioned many of its employees to telework. As for protections for its entire workforce, an agency spokesperson wrote in an email to WAMU that “the response to COVID-19 is a rapidly evolving situation and HHS is working with state and local health officials to ensure that all proper workplace flexibilities are utilized to protect our employees.”

Debra’s daughter is one of many federal government employees in the region who feel they have not been given clear guidance from the agencies they work for about how to work from home—or how to go to an office safely—in the middle of the public health crisis caused by coronavirus.

And for Debra and her daughter, the lack of guidance is causing anxiety. Debra, who is 70 years old and especially vulnerable to the coronavirus because of her age, says she is choosing to isolate herself and not interact with her daughters. And she worries what will happen if one of them gets sick.

“I cannot go there and be there to help facilitate her calling the doctor or taking her to a hospital,” said Debra. So, she said, they decided her daughter would start using up her own leave and stop going in to work to minimize the risks of traveling on public transportation and being out in public.

“Maximum Telework Flexibilities”

In a memo from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) issued Monday, the Trump administration asked federal agencies to adjust their operations immediately to be consistent with the President’s Coronavirus Guidelines for America, which ask people to avoid discretionary travel and gathering in groups larger than 10.

“Non-mission-critical functions that cannot be performed remotely or that require in-person interactions may be postponed or significantly curtailed,” the memo said.

OMB gave agencies 48 hours to review, modify and start implementing their new policies. The memo followed guidance the Trump administration issued Sunday that asked agencies to move to “maximum telework flexibilities” for all employees.

But critics say the guidance doesn’t go far enough. Several D.C., Maryland and Virginia lawmakers signed on to a letter from more than 50 members of Congress to President Trump late Tuesday, urging him to mandate telework for all eligible federal employees and contractors.

The lawmakers said they were “concerned … by reports from constituents that some federal supervisors continue to deny telework requests” from employees who had the capacity to work remotely.

Max Stier, the president and CEO of the Partnership for Public Service, a nonprofit focused on federal government management issues, told WAMU on Wednesday that he still believed a lot of federal employees were having to report to their offices.

“It’s a very large workforce and it’s not really broadly prepared for complete telework,” Stier said.

Stier added that while some agencies—including NASA and the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office—already have effective telework systems in place, others will have to move quickly to get their telework processes operating effectively. The Washington Post reported in January that the Trump administration had scaled back telework at multiple agencies.

Stier said that in the D.C. area, much of the federal workforce is doing administrative work that can be done remotely. “There are ways to enable the vast bulk of the workforce in D.C. to be able to telework.” Doing so—according to both Stier and the Trump administration—is a matter of paramount importance to public health.

No Clear Guidance On Telework

Some agencies, like NASA, have already told employees that anyone who can telework needs to start doing so.

According to an employee at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in Prince George’s County who spoke to WAMU on the condition that their name not be shared, the office implemented mandatory telework rules on Wednesday. But, as this employee pointed out, Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan announced on Thursday of last week that the coronavirus was officially spreading through the community with no traceable source.

“I personally think they should have gone to telework way earlier,” the NASA employee said.

The employee said their office was allowed to telework last week with supervisor approval, but some employees did not feel comfortable asking about telework because “Goddard is kind of a workaholic culture.”

Eric Bunn, a national Vice President for the American Federation of Government Employees, represents about 20,000 of the area’s government workers: 15,000 federal workers, and 5,000 D.C. government workers. Bunn told WAMU that he has been hearing from employees who have not gotten clear guidance on telework and other “essential employees” who are expected to work, but haven’t been given information about the kinds of protective equipment they’ll be given to do their jobs safely in the midst of a pandemic.

“I know this thing is fluid—it’s evolving, it’s moving—it’s just that we need constant communication with our employees so we know what the expectations are,” said Bunn.

The Trump administration stands by its communications about policy.

“By acting early and decisively, President Trump has ensured the government continues to be open and essential services are provided to the American public, including our most vulnerable,” said an OMB spokesperson in a statement to WAMU. “Now is not the time to be distracted by those who use business-as-usual Washington tactics to distract from the urgent measures which all Americans are taking to respond in this emergency.”

Implementation of the administration’s guidelines, however, is up to each individual agency.

Still Reporting To Work

Pat Sommers, a retired employee of the State Department, voiced her disappointment with the agency in an email she sent Tuesday morning. Sommers was responding to an invitation she received to a party hosted by a state department office and scheduled for the end of March.

“I will not be able to attend,” Sommers wrote. “I am following the guidance promulgated by President Trump … about not attending gatherings of 10 people or more.”

“Thinking beyond the immediate issue of the invitation, I am also shocked by the implication that staffing within the office continues as if there is no health crisis,” Sommers continued.

The State Department did not respond to WAMU’s requests for comment on Wednesday about the extent to which the office was staffed. NPR reported Wednesday that parts of the State Department had begun telework. Emily Waechter, a former State Department employee who is in touch with some of her old colleagues, told WAMU Wednesday that “there are extraordinarily dedicated State Department employees who are still reporting to work during the COVID-19 crisis.”

Sommers said not long after she sent her email Tuesday morning, she received an email from the State Department office saying the party had been canceled. But Sommers said her email was not really about the party.

“I personally used the party invitation more to make the point about [how] people should be teleworking,” Sommers told WAMU in a phone call on Wednesday. She said she felt the need to speak out, because she was not sure current employees would feel comfortable doing so.

“The environment is just so fearful,” Sommers said.

This story originally appeared on WAMU.