State government workers in Nebraska have been granted a reprieve from Governor Jim Pillen’s order to end remote work and return to their offices, thanks to a temporary halt issued by the Nebraska Industrial Relations Committee. The order, which was unilaterally issued by Pillen in November, mandated that state employees resume in-person work on Tuesday. However, the committee, acting as an arbitrator for public sector wage and working condition disputes, found that remote work is currently the status quo for public employees and any change from this must be resolved through bargaining.
Pillen’s order justified the return to in-person work by stating that remote work was initially implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic to mitigate the spread of the virus. “Nebraskans are back to work, and they expect that our agencies are fully staffed and open for business Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.,” Pillen stated in a press release. “As public servants, we have a duty to meet that expectation and deliver maximum value to the taxpayers.”
However, the Nebraska Association of Public Employees, representing the state employees union, filed a complaint with the Industrial Relations Committee opposing the order. The union argued that the order would exacerbate staffing shortages and hinder state agencies’ ability to attract and retain high-quality public servants. In a survey conducted by the union, over 1,000 out of 1,700 respondents expressed their intention to actively seek new employment or consider doing so in response to the order.
Justin Hubly, the executive director of the employees union, highlighted the potential consequences of the order in a letter to the Nebraska Attorney General’s Office, which supported the governor’s order. “It is clear from the data that a critical mass of state employees may leave state employment if we are unable to negotiate mutually beneficial terms and conditions of employment regarding remote work,” Hubly stated. “This will have a detrimental impact on all of us, particularly the most vulnerable Nebraskans who rely on critical state services.”
Governor Pillen’s office has not yet responded to requests for comment on the temporary halt.
