CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The Justice administration has ordered any remaining state workers, still working remotely since the pandemic, back to in-person status.
Justice administration Chief of Staff Brian Abraham tells MetroNews there was a general return-to-work order issued by the governor’s office as the pandemic was winding down in 2021 but he said they’ve learned recently not all state agencies have followed that order.
“What we found out in more recent months is that some of the commissioners and some of the department heads were individually allowing their employees to be exempt from that return-to-work policy without our knowledge,” Abraham said.
The administration discovered some department heads were using remote jobs as a recruiting tool against other agencies.
“The complaint from the losing agency was ‘my sister agency offered them a remote job so they (the employee) left me to go to the other agency,'” Abraham said. “We have a general policy in place that we are not to cherry-pick from other agencies.”
Abraham said they really don’t know how many of the approximately 40,000 state workers have remained on remote status since the pandemic but they’ve now made it known to all cabinet secretaries the return-to-work policy applies to all workers with the exception of those employees whose positions were exempt before the pandemic.
Some state workers have worked a hybrid schedule where they report in-person 2-3 days a week but that option is also being eliminated under the latest word from the administration.
Gov. Justice ordered many workers on remote status after the pandemic first surfaced in March 2020. Justice began allowing some state workers back on the job that June but he gave a lot of flexibility to his cabinet secretaries.
“Many people have worked from home and they have done terrific work, I don’t think we’ve skipped a beat,” Justice said at the time. “I want our state workers to know that their safety is paramount and our highest concern.”
Some workers who have been working remotely for months have complained to the governor’s office in recent weeks but their objections aren’t strong ones, according to Abraham.
“They complain about the cost of gas. Well, every West Virginian has to buy gas to go to work,” Abraham said. “Some say they have a sick parent who needs their care 24/7. If that’s the case then they aren’t doing the work for the State of West Virginia and they need to go on leave and take a family medical leave.”
Abraham said he’s also heard some say the state would save money by allowing more remote workers because the state would no longer need space its now renting. Abraham said the state isn’t leaving any buildings.
The return-to-work order is in effect now although some agencies aren’t requiring it until next Monday, April 1. Abraham said he believes other state residents expect state workers be in-person on their jobs.
“The taxpayers of this state have to get up every day and go to work and earn a living, we expect our state employees to do that as well,” Abraham said.