Sponsors (2)
The bill shifts federal work out of Washington to save taxpayer money and boost regional in‑person services while imposing relocations, reducing telework and labor protections, and limiting legal recourse—trading centralized costs and flexibility for workforce redistribution and stronger executive control.
Residents and local communities outside Washington, DC gain more federal jobs and improved in-person customer service as agencies redistribute headquarters and staff to regional offices.
Taxpayers see lower ongoing real-property and lease costs as agencies consolidate headquarters, occupy less costly space, and sell unneeded federal buildings.
The federal government faces lower legal costs and fewer lawsuits related to the Act, speeding implementation and reducing litigation expenses.
Unionized and public‑sector workers lose or see reduced collective-bargaining protections and some state/local law protections may be preempted, weakening labor rights and negotiated terms.
Many federal employees face forced relocations, curtailed full‑time telework, and short notice timelines, reducing job flexibility, harming work‑life balance, and risking retention.
Employees may suffer pay cuts or higher commuting costs because locality pay changes and elimination of certain relocation incentives reduce household income for some workers.
Based on analysis of 9 sections of legislative text.
Requires agencies to relocate 30% of HQ staff outside the Washington area, cut HQ real property by 30%, restrict many full-time telework arrangements, and add reporting requirements.
Official title: Require the head of each Executive agency to relocate 30 percent of the employees assigned to the headquarters of the Executive agency to duty stations outside the Washington metropolitan area, and for other purposes.
Introduced January 7, 2025 by Joni Ernst · Last progress January 7, 2025
Requires executive agencies to move at least 30% of their headquarters employees out of the Washington metropolitan area within one year, cut federal-owned or -leased headquarters real property by at least 30% within two years, restrict full-time telework for many HQ employees, and impose new reporting and budget-counting requirements. The law overrides conflicting statutes and collective bargaining agreements, bars private lawsuits under the Act, and prohibits certain relocation incentives.