Department of Labor Response to the COVID-19 

Pandemic (Internal Facing)

The purpose of this cross-agency paper is to describe internal-facing activities the Department has 

undertaken to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Department’s top priority is the safety and 

health of our workforce and the public who visit our facilities. As such, the Department of Labor 

(DOL) has been adhering to CDC, Office of Personnel Management (OPM), Office of Management and 

Budget (OMB), General Services Administration (GSA), and Occupational Health and Safety 

Administration (OSHA) guidelines and will continue to do so as they are updated to reflect the 

changing epidemiologic landscape. 

Current Posture (as of October 15, 2020)

In March 2020, DOL leadership implemented a maximum telework posture for DOL employees and 

contractors, and named the Assistant Secretary for Administration and Management as the 

Department’s official for COVID response. DOL has effectively maintained agency operations 

remotely and was well positioned to adapt businesses processes for remote work (such as 

collecting data online and via telephone instead of in person). DOL implemented new processes to 

facilitate virtual on-boarding, rerouted telephone calls and public inquiries to investigators and 

employees working remotely, and ensured on-site access for staff on an as-needed basis with 

supervisor approval. DOL Senior Executive Service (SES) and non-career staff returned to onpremises work in June 2020. At this time, DOL facilities have not yet entered DOL’s Phase 11. 

Weekly, DOL is assessing states against targets developed to align to the White House’s Gating 

Criteria that each region or state should satisfy before proceeding to a phased reopening. These 

state and local assessments are the starting point for decisions to change the DOL Phase for a 

geographic area or facility. Additional factors in considering resumption of on-premises operations 

in a state, region, or locality include, but are not limited to, regional impacts, school and daycare 

closures, availability of other dependent care services, mass transit and commuting mode 

availability, facility requirements, and DOL agency missions. 

Once the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Administration and Management (OASAM) has 

authorized a geographic area to move to a subsequent phase, DOL agencies will submit an office 

resumption request to OASAM, which will be reviewed by OASAM’s Regional Administrators, 

human resources, safety and health, emergency management, and general counsel personnel as 

needed. This process will be repeated for each phase of the resumption process to reflect that 

social distancing mechanisms may change as additional employees return to on-premises work, and 

allow agencies to incorporate best practices and lessons learned.

DOL was able to successfully transition to maximum telework and has expanded or implemented 

additional resources, such as Microsoft Teams, Cisco Video Conference Lines, WebRTC (for external 

video conferences), and Jabber softphone capabilities. 

Like much of the rest of the government, DOL has experienced some challenges procuring hygiene 

supplies and with the costs of deep cleanings. To mitigate these challenges OASAM Regional 

Administrators are working with GSA regarding the availability of Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and 

Economic Security (CARES) Act funding for cleaning, the Office of the Senior Procurement Executive 

is providing market research information for high-demand COVID-19-related supplies, and OASAM 

 1 Department of Labor’s Approach to the Resumption of On-Premises Work describes DOL’s phased approach 

to resume normal operations to the maximum extent possible, as local conditions warrant. 
is collaborating with OSHA to identify permissible alternatives to costly cleanings such as leaving 

the office vacant. 

Coordination Mechanisms

As mentioned above, the Assistant Secretary for Administration and Management was assigned 

responsibility for coordinating the Department of Labor’s efforts in response to the COVID-19 

disease. The Department has put together a leadership team to discuss resumption of normal 

operations. This team is led by OASAM’s Deputy Assistant Secretary for Operations and is 

comprised of Center Directors, representatives from Procurement, Solicitors Office, Health and 

Safety, and other Subject Matter Experts.

The Department started to conduct internal briefings and coordination meetings as early as 

February 2020. Information is provided to employees using several mechanisms to include allemployee email messages, messages to managers and supervisors, and a robust internal webpage. 

OASAM immediately put into place protocols for potential/confirmed COVID-19 exposures in the 

workplace as well as appropriate cleaning/disinfection in accordance with CDC guidelines. Created 

in collaboration with OSHA subject matter experts, these protocols were incorporated into the 

Department’s resumption plans. 

DOL has offices in hundreds of buildings across the nation and many of them are in facilities that 

are controlled by GSA or are in leased space. In these buildings, decisions regarding building 

policies (social distancing, cleaning, face coverings) are not made by DOL. OASAM Regional 

Administrators are coordinating with the Federal Executive Boards, Facility Security Committees, 

GSA, and the DOL Regional Executive Committees. Regardless of who sets the policies for a given 

facility, DOL employees are required to abide by the established protocols. 

The Department, represented by OASAM, held weekly briefings with union officials on the 

development of the Department’s Resumption Plan. On October 12, 2020, DOL and its unions 

signed a Memorandum of Understanding on the impact and implementation of the DOL Resumption 

Plan and Agency-specific Resumption Plans.

Internal and External Guidance

As the Department began planning for the resumption of on-premises work, it developed a highlevel “approach” (item 1. below) that provided guidance on developing the DOL Resumption of OnPremises Work Plan (item 2.) and each DOL Agency-Specific Plan (item 3.). These plans together 

describe how DOL will prioritize mission-critical, public-facing activities, and activities that are not 

fully-performed through telework, while protecting the health and safety of its workforce and 

ensuring that the Department is able to continue to deliver its mission to the American public.

1. The Department of Labor’s Approach to the Resumption of On-Premises Work

provides a high-level summary of DOL efforts to resume normal operations to the maximum 

extent possible, as local conditions warrant.

2. The DOL Resumption of On-Premises Work Plan provides more detailed guidance and 

procedures to implement the Department’s deliberate and measured approach to 

responsibly return employees to DOL offices, while protecting the health and safety of its 

workforce and ensuring that the Department is able to continue to deliver its mission to the 
American public. The Department instituted a centralized process for assessing the 

appropriateness and timing to resume on-premises work at its locations nationwide.

3. Agency-Specific Resumption of On-Premises Work Plans identifies how functions and 

activities should be shifted back to on-premises operation in a phased manner in alignment 

with the Department’s Resumption Plan. DOL agencies prioritized mission-critical 

functions, public-facing activities, and activities that cannot be fully performed remotely in 

the earlier phases. 

These three guiding documents are supplemented by additional policies and guidance such as DOL 

Social Distancing Guidelines, pre-departure health screening processes, and processes for 

reporting, messaging, and mitigating COVID-19 known exposures.

All of DOL’s plans and internal guidance documents should be considered living documents that 

may be updated as the situation dictates. 

DOL’s response was informed by guidance from the White House on Opening Up America Again, the 

joint Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and Office of Personnel Management (OPM) 

memorandum M-20-23, Aligning Federal Agency Operations with the National Guidelines for 

Opening Up America Again, and guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 

(CDC) on the spread of the pandemic and proper planning also informed DOL’s response to the 

COVID-19 pandemic. OSHA provided the Department additional guidance on proper ways to keep 

our employees safe. DOL’s response was also informed by guidance from the Department of 

Homeland Security (DHS), Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Health and Human 

Services (HHS), GSA, other OMB memorandums, and other response Agencies on appropriate 

response measures to pandemics. OSHA has provided the appropriate guidance on Personal 

Protective Equipment (PPE) and when it should be supplied to employees based upon established 

OSHA regulations.

Employee Training & Resources

OASAM also developed and implemented two different mandatory training courses. These trainings

must be completed within eight hours of returning to on-premises work, if not previously 

completed remotely. 

1. Social Distancing Principles in the Workplace – Training for Managers and Supervisors

2. Returning to DOL On-Premises Workplaces Training – All employee training on 

strategies to mitigate the spread of the virus in the workplace.

OASAM also developed signage for hygiene etiquette, proper use of face covering and social 

distancing signage for agencies to use in their individual office suites and work sites across the 

country. OASAM also created guidance on employee and supervisor/manager roles and 

responsibilities for identifying and mitigating confirmed for potential COVID-19 exposures in DOL 

workplaces.

Frances Perkins Building Response

The FPB headquarters in Washington, DC, is managed by DOL under a delegation of authority from 

GSA. It is the one of the few buildings in which the Department has control over all aspects of 
workplace operations during COVID-19. As such, OASAM wrote and published a comprehensive 

FPB COVID-19 Mitigation Handbook, available both online the DOL intranet page and printed in 

hardcopy so it is available for all DOL employees, contractors and visitors. The handbook outlines 

the FPB requirements for daily health screenings, hygiene etiquette, face covering policies, social 

distancing guidelines, what to do in case of exposure or illness as well as building services impacted 

by the maximum telework posture.

OASAM Business Operations Center has posted appropriate signage in common areas throughout 

the building, implemented directional traffic flow, limited occupancy in service areas, assessed 

needed engineering controls, and purchased/ installed touchless hand sanitizers and Plexiglas 

barriers (where necessary).

Face coverings are required to enter the FPB and in all building common areas. While not required 

in office suites, employees may wear them at all times should they choose to or when social 

distancing is not possible (i.e., walking through the suite past others).