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“Due to significant changes in the Department’s worksite landscape initiated by a January 20, 2025, Presidential Memorandum directing Federal agencies to return all eligible Federal employees to full-time, in-person work as soon as practicable, we are adjusting the objectives of our audit.
Source: U.S. Department of Transportation
Photo: Courtesy Federal Aviation Administration
The Department of Transportation’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) is conducting an ongoing, congressionally requested audit of DOT’s telework and remote work (worksite) requirements, originally announced on September 17, 2024. Due to significant changes in the Department’s worksite landscape initiated by a January 20, 2025, Presidential Memorandum directing Federal agencies to return all eligible Federal employees to full-time, in-person work as soon as practicable, we are adjusting the objectives of our audit. Our revised audit objectives are to assess DOT’s (1) progress implementing the Federal policy on return to in-person work and (2) procedures for overseeing compliance with worksite requirements.
Read Memorandum:
U.S. Department of Transportation
Office of Inspector General
Memorandum
Date: February 26, 2025
Subject:
INFORMATION: Revised Notification | DOT’s Worksite Policies and Procedures Oversight | Project No. 24P3002S000
From: Tiffany Mostert, Assistant Inspector General for Audit Operations and Special Reviews
To:
Assistant Secretary for Administration
Federal Aviation Administrator
Federal Highway Administrator
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administrator
Federal Railroad Administrator
Federal Transit Administrator
Great Lakes St. Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation Administrator
Maritime Administrator National Highway Traffic Safety Administrator
Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administrator
In response to a June 2024 request from Senators Joni Ernst and Ted Cruz, we announced our review of DOT’s telework and remote work (worksite) requirements on September 17, 2024. The objectives of our audit at that time were to assess DOT’s (1) procedures for overseeing compliance with worksite requirements and (2) actions to evaluate the impacts of worksite policies.
Since we announced the audit, the Department’s worksite landscape has changed significantly. In response to a January 20, 2025, Presidential Memorandum, all eligible Federal employees are to return to full-time, in-person work as soon as practicable, essentially eliminating telework and remote work except in limited circumstances. DOT’s timeline and implementation plan for returning to in-person work provides that most employees will report for in-person work by March 10, 2025, unless an approved exception applies. Accordingly, we are revising the objectives of our review to assess DOT’s (1) progress implementingthe Federal policy on return to in-person work and (2) procedures for overseeing compliance with worksite requirements.
We plan to continue our work at DOT and Federal Aviation Administration Headquarters and Operating Administration regional offices as appropriate. If you have any questions, please contact me or Wendy Harris, Program Director.
cc: DOT Audit Liaison, M-1
Federal Aviation Administration Audit Liaison, AAE-100
Federal Highway Administration Audit Liaison, HCFB-32
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration Audit Liaison, MCPRS
Federal Railroad Administration Audit Liaison, RCFO-50
Federal Transit Administration Audit Liaison, TBP-1
Great Lakes St. Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation Audit Liaison, DOT-GLS
Maritime Administration Audit Liaison, MAR-253
National Highway Safety and Traffic Administration Audit Liaison, NPO-310
Pipelines and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration Audit Liaison, PHO-10
