Hours after President Donald Trump was sworn in, he signed an executive order that aims to eliminate remote work among federal workers and get them back in the office full-time. More than 3 million Americans across the U.S. are federal workers, and about 15% live in the D.C. area, making the government our region’s largest employer. While it’s still unclear exactly how Trump’s order against remote work will unfold, here’s what we know so far. What does Trump’s executive order on remote work say? Trump’s “return to in-person work” order states: “Heads of all departments and agencies in the executive branch of Government shall, as soon as practicable, take all necessary steps to terminate remote work arrangements and require employees to return to work in-person at their respective duty stations on a full-time basis, provided that the department and agency heads shall make exemptions they deem necessary.” How many federal employees work remotely? More than 50% of government employees work in-person at jobs that require them to be on-site each day, according to the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), a labor union representing more than 750,000 federal workers. About 10% of federal personnel have fully remote positions, AFGE said. Excluding fully remote-eligible workers who do not have an in-person worksite, federal workers are in the office for about 79% of their working hours, according to the union. Among the subset of federal workers who telework but not eligible for remote work, about 61% of working hours are spent in-person. Will all federal workers have to go back to the office? Collective bargaining agreements, or CBAs, are in place protecting remote work for many branches of government. “Our CBAs are legally binding and in effect,” AFGE said. What’s the difference between remote work and telework? The language of Trump’s order refers to remote work, not telework. Here’s the difference, according to a U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) document from November: “Remote work is a work arrangement where an employee performs work from an alternate worksite (generally the person’s residence) and is not expected to report to an agency location on a regular and recurring basis.” “It is distinct from telework, where workers are expected to report to an agency location on a regular basis and have regularly scheduled days where they work from an alternate worksite.” When will federal workers have to return to the office full-time? “The directive doesn’t set any timelines and appears to give federal agencies latitude in how to implement them, including the ability to give exceptions,” AFGE said. Trump administration 21 hours ago Trump administration directs all federal diversity, equity and inclusion staff be put on leave What reaction is the remote work executive order getting in DC? When Trump signed the order inside Capital One arena, supporters loudly applauded. Elsewhere, it’s been met with mixed reactions. While Republican lawmakers have applauded the move, many of the unions representing federal workers are pushing back. D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser supports Trump’s efforts and has said his order to get more people back to downtown D.C. is one of the few things on which the two agree. Bowser has long tied the decline in retail and office space revenue downtown to a lack of federal workers going to their offices. The mayor’s office declined to speak with News4 on the topic but said on social media, “Today I am optimistic that by focusing on our shared priorities with President Trump, whether it is by keeping D.C. safe and clean or bring workers back to our downtown, we will continue to deliver for D.C. and the American public.” Many business owners downtown told News4 they’re hoping to see more customers. AFGE argues letting eligible workers have hybrid schedules helps recruit and retain workers. Are any individuals or groups filing lawsuits over the remote work order? “Whether AFGE will file a lawsuit depends on how it is implemented. If they violate our contracts, we will take appropriate action to uphold our rights,” the group said. Will eliminating remote work make government more effective? The Partnership for Public Service works to streamline government and make it more efficient. They have worked with many administrations. The group’s Jenny Mattingley urged consideration of how government can best serve people, regardless of where federal employees work. “These folks live in people’s districts. They live in members of Congress’s districts. They are constituents. They are in those states and economies, so that’s gonna have an impact. Also, what we hear from members of Congress all the time is that when government services don’t work, they hear from their constituents,” she said. News4 sends breaking news stories by email. Go here to sign up to get breaking news alerts in your inbox. Tracee Wilkins, Katie Leslie, Mark Segraves and Jessica Albert contributed reporting.