Forced Agency Relocations: What the Law Requires When You Cannot Move
Forced agency relocations are reaching federal employees at six or more agencies this summer, and NPR’s review of public records and internal communications this week describes a rollout that has been, in places, chaotic. If a relocation order lands on your desk and you cannot go, that chaos is not only frustrating. It can be legally relevant.
What the Reporting Describes
According to NPR’s reporting this week:
- The Army Corps of Engineers pointed more than 400 New York employees toward New Jersey, some as soon as August 15, with no signed lease as of late July. Engineers with decades of expertise have already resigned.
- CFPB employees worked for weeks without enough desks and without working Wi-Fi, running agency business off personal phone hotspots.
- NASA’s former floors in Manhattan sit empty at more than $2.5 million a year, on a lease that runs through 2031.
- USDA moved staff out of Alexandria to get “closer to the farmers and ranchers we serve,” then sent them to Washington and Maryland — including a Maryland building treated for bedbugs in May. As of late July, that work was still ongoing.
We covered USDA’s earlier relocation push back in April. The pattern repeats: the move is announced before the destination is ready.
Two Lawsuits Say Some of This Needed Congress
Agencies get real room to reorganize and to move people, and most of the time a relocation is lawful. But two lawsuits filed in July argue these particular moves crossed a line Congress drew.
The statute that created the Department of Housing and Urban Development establishes the department “at the seat of government.” 42 U.S.C. § 3532(a). The District of Columbia Attorney General sued HUD on July 27; according to the suit, more than 80 percent of the department was already out of Washington by then. A Forest Service employees’ union has filed suit as well. One member of Congress put it on the record: “I don’t take the flaunting of congressional intent lightly.”
Both cases are pending. Nothing has been decided, and anyone who tells you they know the outcome is guessing.
Now Make It Your Desk
Change one fact and this stops being a news story. The relocation order reaches you, and you cannot go — children in school, a lease, a spouse’s job.
Declining is not automatically the end of your career. For most career employees, removing you for declining a directed reassignment is an adverse action under 5 U.S.C. § 7513. That statute entitles you to:
- At least 30 days’ advance written notice stating the specific reasons
- A reasonable time — not less than seven days — to answer orally and in writing, with supporting evidence
- Representation by an attorney or other representative
- A written decision with the specific reasons for it
- An appeal to the Merit Systems Protection Board
At the Board, one question is whether the reassignment served a legitimate management purpose. The disorder described above is not background noise in that inquiry. It is potential evidence.
Save Everything, With Dates
The announcement. The reversal. The “we don’t have a signed lease yet” email. Every version, every date, stored somewhere that is not your work laptop.
Response windows in the federal sector are short, and they run from the notice — not from the day the move actually happens. If your letter already reads relocate-or-else, it is worth talking to lawyers for federal employees before that window closes.
Legal Disclaimer: This content is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Federal employment situations are fact-specific and time-sensitive. Please consult a qualified federal employment attorney about your specific situation.