Many federal employees working at the Department of Commerce will no longer be able to maintain telework and remote work arrangements, according to a memo sent to department leaders Friday.

Employees should work full-time at their respective worksites or duty stations, Commerce leadership wrote in the internal memo, obtained by Federal News Network.

“All current telework agreements must be cancelled immediately,” the agency memo states. “Situational telework may be approved by supervisors on a case-by-case basis only when there is a written justification outlining the temporary challenge, such as a weather-related facility closure, being addressed and its expected duration.”

Commerce employees who currently have a remote work arrangement will get separate information about any changes to their work status, the memo added.

Commerce’s announcement comes after the Office of Personnel Management set a Friday deadline for all agencies to revise their telework policies and begin ordering federal employees to work on-site full-time.

The Commerce memo is one of what will likely be many return-to-office pushes from federal agencies who are now required to return their employees to the office full-time. The requirement comes from a return-to-office directive President Donald Trump issued on his first day in office. The Department of Homeland Security similarly announced return-to-office plans earlier this week.

For many agencies, however, there will be some exemptions to returning federal employees to the office. Commerce’s internal memo, for instance, clarifies that employees with disabilities and others who require reasonable accommodations, or “another compelling reason,” are exempt from the return-to-office directive.

The return-to-office changes should also be consistent with any collective bargaining agreements with federal unions, the Commerce memo states.

“In collaboration with department leadership, bureaus with employees covered by collective bargaining agreements addressing telework and remote work should continue to explore methods for maximizing in-person work,” the memo states.

The Commerce Department did not immediately respond to Federal News Network’s request for comment on when the agency expects the outlined changes to take full effect. But in a memo sent Wednesday to all agencies, OPM recommended a 30-day deadline for agencies to be in full compliance with Trump’s order, and return their employees to the office full-time.

Commerce is also exempting a few of its components from the broad return-to-office directive: the Patent and Trademark Office, Office of Inspector General and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Officer Corps.

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