VA Denies Telework for Disabled Veterans, Union Fights Back

Disabled veterans working at the VA are reportedly being denied telework accommodations, despite existing laws. Many feel the department is not supporting them, leading to increased stress and financial hardship. Union efforts are underway to challenge these denials and reinstate fair accommodations.

An additional disabled professional who works at the VA said that she requested a temporary telework sensible lodging after a major vehicle mishap exacerbated a service-connected psychological health handicap that momentarily avoided her from driving. While she made use of to consistently telework in her position, officials denied the demand, contending that the department is exempt for her commute.

The Challenge of Returning to the Office

Employees with disabilities at a number of firms have actually affirmed that they’re being required to return to the workplace, even though the Trump management’s directive ending telework adaptability for the public service excused those with certifying reasonable accommodations.

Lots of handicapped professionals offer in companies. Actually, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that in 2024 about one-fifth of used veterans with a service-connected disability benefited the federal government.

Veterans in Federal Service

Several VA employees interviewed by Government Executive claimed that because the department took on an evaluation of practical lodgings in feedback to Trump’s instruction that authorities have denied and retracted telework holiday accommodations, which is impacting many professionals with impairments.

With support from his union, he tested his firing prior to the Advantage Solution Protection Board, which hears federal staff members’ allures. Eventually, Solee was reinstated as an outcome of a settlement arrangement seen by Federal government Exec under which the VA likewise accepted participate in a brand-new sensible holiday accommodation procedure and supply backpay that Solee said totaled $30,000 before taxes.

Impact on VA Employees

We have stories of an individual missing half a lung who is immunocompromised that can not be in an office environment,” he stated. They’re still legitimate, qualified employees that can still do all the essential features of their work, however they just shouldn’t be doing it in a workplace environment, per their physician’s orders.”

Douglas Massey, president of AFGE Resident 17 for VA’s Central Workplace in Washington, D.C., stated that he obtained reports of division staff members throughout the nation getting their telework reasonable lodgings denied as early as spring 2025.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the Veterans Affairs Department is among one of the most typical agencies where veterans work. It utilizes greater than 105,000 vets, according to government workforce data from the Workplace of Worker Management, which is nearly a quarter of the department’s labor force.

Wheless, the regional president from Florida, said that union officials from various other locations have actually not reported widespread practical holiday accommodation recissions. However his neighborhood is presently standing for virtually 150 influenced people.

Union Fights for Reinstatement

“It’s extremely draining. It typically increases my TBI with a frustration,” he stated. “It’s continuous things daily that I undergo. I made use of to have a mental health and wellness appointment every three months. Currently I need to do it every 2 weeks as a result of the stress and anxiety level.”

Because Price got on a telework practical accommodation, he and his young family in 2024 were able to relocate more than 3 hours away from his workplace to live closer to relatives. He received authorization from his managers for his relocation, with one stating in an e-mail Price shown Government Exec that the reasonable accommodation permits him “to live anywhere in the state of Florida.”

“There’s a joke within the VA that the VA supports impaired veterans, unless you help the VA,” said Galen Wheless, the head of state of American Federation of Federal Government Employees Local 1594 in St. Petersburg, Fla

Due to the fact that he began parental leave around his mandated return-to-office day, rate hasn’t yet had to undertake the about six-hour total commute. However he stated the rescission of his reasonable lodging has actually currently taken a toll on his wellness.

Health Impacts of Denied Accommodations

“Under President Trump, VA took thousands of staff members off remote job and brought them back to the workplace, where they can work as a group to much better offer veterans,” Slaven wrote. “At the very same time, VA is guaranteeing lodgings are approved to staff members that require them one of the most.”

Based on department e-mails assessed by Federal government Exec, the VA used Rate alternative holiday accommodations onsite, consisting of added breaks, a wellness space and an ergonomic chair. He said that a number of colleagues obtained the exact same recommended accommodations, although they have various specials needs.

“So I talked to my other half, he went to his task and they changed his timetable. They fit him for me, so he could drive me to function and pick me up,” she stated. “The VA– my VA, my military, my country– primarily would not assist me, yet his work would. That actually bothered me.”

. Kevin Rate clinically retired from the Military after a particularly negative helicopter landing throughout training that has actually caused flare-ups of pain in his legs. Sometimes, he functions from bed for half of the day.

At the beginning of his 2nd term, President Donald Trump terminated job from home for the public service, saying that the office versatility had been abused following the COVID-19 pandemic. Yet his regulation exempted qualifying feds with impairments– most of whom are eligible for telework through a reasonable accommodation, which companies are needed to supply under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 unless doing so would certainly cause an “undue challenge.” Other instances of affordable lodgings include interpreters for people who are deaf and accessible job terminals.

One such staff member, who chose to be unrevealed as a result of fears of revenge, approximates that he is spending an extra $500 monthly on transportation and clothes. Since it was department policy at the time instead than a requirement due to a practical holiday accommodation, this person stated that he previously teleworked.

Personal Stories of Hardship

“The Rehabilitation Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act call for companies to fit known handicaps if an individual might otherwise execute their job duties,” she claimed. “So if you can perform your task duties in the house and you require a reasonable holiday accommodation in order to do that, driving is a life feature much like walking, talking, reading, hearing and seeing. Driving is a life task covered under the statute.”

. “So if you can execute your task responsibilities at home and you need a reasonable accommodation in order to do that, driving is a life function simply like walking, chatting, reading, hearing and seeing. After returning to his work in March, the VA offered Solee telework two days per pay period as a different practical accommodation, according to documents watched by Federal government Exec. He decreased, stating his medical professional suggests that he requires full-time telework.

In February, nonetheless, the VA retracted his affordable accommodation. While Rate appealed– emphasizing his move and that he’s limited to driving no more than thirty minutes due to his impairment– department officials responded in an e-mail that an “staff member’s commute to and from the worksite is usually taken into consideration outside the range of the placement’s crucial functions; therefore, the agency is exempt for giving accommodations associated with travelling.”

After going back to his work in March, the VA provided Solee telework 2 days per pay period as an alternative affordable lodging, according to paperwork watched by Government Executive. Yet he declined, saying his physician argues that he requires full time telework. Now in a standoff, Solee said that he is continuing to work from another location every day, yet his manager is again restricting his access to systems. And he’s only obtaining concerning fifty percent of his normal paycheck as a result of being regarded AWOL, he claimed.

Pertaining to Rate’s and Solee’s experiences, Slaven claimed the VA can not give info concerning staff members unless they sign a “Request for and Consent to Release Wellness Info” kind. Federal government Exec communicated this details to both people that declined to authorize, pointing out problems concerning sharing their health and wellness info.

Various other examples of practical accommodations consist of interpreters for people that are deaf and available job stations.

“There’s a joke within the VA that the VA sustains disabled veterans, unless you work for the VA,” stated Galen Wheless, the head of state of American Federation of Government Worker Citizen 1594 in St. Petersburg, Fla

Legal Framework for Accommodations

Daniel Solee– a VA employee and Navy veteran with PTSD and a distressing mind injury– had actually been working under a telework affordable accommodation considering that 2021. It was retracted, nonetheless, in July 2025 in what he thinks was revenge for slamming his administration.

VA press assistant Quinn Slaven contested that characterization in a declaration to Government Executive, calling cases that the department is breaking the Rehab Act “absurd.” He indicated assistance specifying that firms might assess formerly given telework holiday accommodations and change them with “a reliable alternative reasonable lodging.”

VA’s Response and Union Disagreement