The US Office of Personnel Management encouraged federal agencies to relax work-from-home restrictions for federal employees working in host cities during the FIFA World Cup.
“Given the scale of the event, host cities may experience significant increases in traffic congestion and commuting delays,” the OPM said in a memo, reminding agencies of their authority “to approve situational/unscheduled telework and other workforce flexibilities at their sole and exclusive discretion for impacted employees.”
The move is a shift for the Trump administration. President Donald Trump early in 2025 issued an executive order instructing agencies to “take all necessary steps to terminate remote work arrangements.”
The administration further cracked down on remote work, telling agencies late last year to eliminate full-time arrangements in 2026 and to avoid using telework to “shorten” the workday.