Returning SBA to Main Street Act of 2025
Returning SBA to Main Street Act of 2025 would require the Small Business Administration (SBA) to move at least 30 percent of its headquarters staff out of the Washington, DC metropolitan area within one year, with pay adjusted to the new duty station and prohibiting full-time telework for those relocated. The bill also directs SBA to reduce its headquarters office space by at least 30 percent within two years and to plan relocations in a way that promotes geographic diversity, including rural markets, and maintains in-person customer service across regions. In addition, SBA must report on workforce counts, relocation eligibility, and implementation plans, and it must include certain workforce data in its budget justification materials. The act also includes provisions about pay locality, eligibility for relocation, notice obligations, and limitations on relocation incentives, and it asserts that the act supersedes other laws or collective bargaining agreements and provides no private right of action.
Key Points
- 1Mandatory relocation: Not less than 30 percent of SBA headquarters employees must have their permanent duty station moved to an office location outside the Washington metropolitan area within 1 year, with pay set by the new locality and no full-time telework after relocation.
- 2Eligibility and exceptions: Most headquarters employees are eligible for relocation, except those who receive a full-time telework accommodation as a reasonable adjustment under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Such accommodated employees are not moved but count toward the 30 percent target for purposes of compliance.
- 3Geographic diversification and in-person service: In selecting new duty stations, the Administrator must promote geographic diversity, consider rural markets, and ensure adequate staffing in all regions to maintain in-person customer service.
- 4Office space reduction: SBA must reduce its headquarters office space by at least 30 percent, with implementation beginning within 180 days and completion within 2 years of enactment.
- 5Reporting and budget materials: SBA must report within 180 days on workforce counts, eligibility for relocation, numbers moved, exceptions, and the relocation plan; budget justification materials must include data on headquarters staff, locations, full-time telework, and full-time ADA accommodations. The act also includes a no-relocation-incentive rule and a supervisor over relocation decisions, with a supercession clause and no private right of action.