Vermont Supreme Court allows Gov. Scott to enforce in-person work for state employees

Theo Wells-Spackman is a Report for America corps member who reports for VTDigger.

Updated 3:23 p.m.

The Vermont Supreme Court sided with Gov. Phil Scott’s administration Friday, allowing the governor to order state employees to return to in-person work.

Friday’s unanimous decision reversed an April 1 order by the Vermont Labor Relations Board, which required the state to “rescind” a partial return-to-office mandate for state employees and repay staff for various costs associated with in-person work. Scott quickly appealed the matter to the state’s highest court, issuing a scathing critique of the labor board itself, and the case saw oral arguments in June.

“I’m pleased that this matter has been resolved by the Supreme Court,” Scott said in a statement Friday. “I believe this policy, and the greater collaboration, creativity, team building and access it creates, is both in the best interest of our state workforce, and importantly, the Vermonters we serve.”

Last August, Scott’s administration announced employees would need to return to their worksites at least three days per week. Leaders in the Vermont State Employees’ Association pushed back hard, saying the mandate would impose an inappropriate burden on its members, and that Scott’s administration had failed to bargain in good faith over the policy. Thousands of state staff had continued working from home after the Covid-19 pandemic.

On Friday, the court found that a telework policy in state employees’ contracts gave Scott the authority to issue such a return-to-office directive.

“The Governor’s assessment of the operating needs of his administration was reasonable, and it is not up to this Court to assess the wisdom of that decision,” said Friday’s order.

Steve Howard, executive director of the state employees’ union, said he disagreed with the decision and called it “a great disappointment” in an interview Friday. 

A lack of reasonably-priced housing, childcare and transportation to aid staff in complying with the return-to-office mandate could cause a number of state employees to leave their roles in the near future, according to Howard. Early data following the policy’s initial implementation in December showed little evidence of large-scale staff departures.

“It’s going to have a major impact on state government,” he said, “because fundamentally, this was about affordability.”

The labor organization will also be exploring other avenues to pursue relief for its members, Howard said, including through future collective bargaining.

Vermont Attorney General Charity Clark thanked the court for the ruling on Friday, saying, “We hope it provides important clarity to State employees, who are dedicated public servants doing important work for Vermont.”

For Scott, the win comes at a crucial moment in his reelection campaign, weeks before the Nov. 3 general election.

The Vermont State Employees’ Association, Howard said, will be “redoubling our efforts to elect Amanda Janoo.”

Read the story on VTDigger here: Vermont Supreme Court allows Gov. Scott to enforce in-person work for state employees.