NCUA employees will have choice to continue working virtually

Staffers at the National Credit Union Administration will have the option of continuing to work remotely when the agency begins to bring staff back for in-person work, NCUA Chairman Rodney Hood said Monday in an exclusive interview with Credit Union Journal.

In addition to staff at its Alexandria, Va., headquarters, the regulator also has a pair of regional offices and examiners who work across the country. Hood said the agency continues to monitor the national public health situation and has not yet set a date for a return.

“When we do resume operations, that Phase 1 is going to be completely voluntary,” he said, adding that offices will be equipped with sanitation stations and staff will have personal protective equipment mailed to their homes before any return.

From there the agency could gradually move to a second phase where more employees are expected to be on-site, but could shift back to a voluntary option if the data doesn’t support moving beyond that.

“Right now there are too many variables,” Hood said.

Hood added that the agency is continuing to conduct remote examinations of credit unions, a process it began in March, and has no set plans to bring examines back into credit union facilities unless circumstances at a particular institution require it.

In June, the regulator announced a plan to potentially resume in-person exams within a month, but one week later it backpedaled, citing a “highly fluid situation” and said its originally planned date was too soon.