Youngkin wants state workers to return to offices under policy effective July 5

Gov. Glenn Youngkin wants state employees back in their offices under a new telework policy that will take effect July 5 to guide executive branch agencies out of workplace restrictions imposed during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The new policy, announced on Thursday, will let state agencies determine which jobs will be eligible for remote work and how often employees will be allowed to perform their duties outside of their government offices.

Under the new policy the clear presumption is that state workers will work in the office. The policy flatly states: “Effective July 5, 2022, Virginia state employees will return to the physical workplace.”

More than 55,000 employees in 65 executive branch agencies will be able to request to work some days remotely under agreements negotiated with their supervisors and adopted by June 30. Employees will be able to apply for telework agreements beginning Friday.

The new policy will allow for teleworking under certain new agreements that replace any prior teleworking arrangements. The agreements will require escalating levels of supervisor approval depending on the number of teleworking days.

An agency head must approve any agreement where one day a week is requested as a telework day, or a temporary teleworking arrangement of no more than two weeks, “for temporary circumstances such as family illness, school closing, weather advisories, etc.”

A Cabinet secretary would have to approve an agreement in which a worker requests two days a week as telework days.

The governor’s chief of staff would have to approve an agreement in which more than two days a week are requested as telework days.

“After listening to the needs of Virginians, discussing solutions with agency heads across government, and closely monitoring the pandemic, we are excited to welcome our employees in-person this summer,” Youngkin said in an announcement of the new policy.

“We know that creative, innovative, and effective solutions for all Virginians occur with regular, in-person interaction by our incredible workforce here in the commonwealth,” the governor stated. “Embarking on a new path that values innovation and teamwork, we are updating Virginia’s telework policy for the first time in more than a decade.”

Under the new policy agency heads are to underscore that teleworking options are a benefit the state offers to employees, “rather than an obligation of the Commonwealth.”

During the pandemic, which has been going on for 26 months, COVID-19 has killed at least 11 state employees — seven at the Department of Corrections, two at the Virginia Employment Commission and two at state hospitals run by the Departmental of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services.

State government employs almost 95,000 people full time, not including faculty at public colleges and universities, but the new policy will not apply to those who work for the General Assembly, state court system, or independent commissions and authorities that set their own policies.

For example, the Virginia Retirement System began returning employees to its offices last week under a hybrid work model that initially will allow them to choose to work in person one day a week, either Tuesday or Wednesday.

“Ultimately, employees will migrate to a hybrid work schedule late this summer where employees will work in the office Tuesdays and Wednesdays,” said Jeanne Chenault, spokesperson for the retirement system, which has 347 full-time employees and 28 wage employees and will continue to allow its call center employees to work remotely.

Employees in some state workplaces, such as prisons and mental hospitals, have worked throughout the pandemic. Customer-services agencies, such as the Department of Motor Vehicles, have gradually returned to in-person service after closing their offices or operating by appointment only for most of the pandemic.

The State Corporation Commission reopened its offices in the Tyler Building to the public on April 11 and has resumed walk-in service to the clerk’s office for business filings. It will resume courtroom hearings in the building next week. Currently, about 130 of its 670 employees are working in their offices voluntarily, said spokesman Andy Farmer. “We’re finalizing our plan for bringing people back.”

Some agencies already have begun “inviting” employees back into their offices to work in-person on a voluntary basis, Secretary of Administration Lyn McDermid said in an interview on Thursday.

“People are already teleworking consistent with the new policy.”

Under the policy, employees will be able to apply to work remotely on certain days, subject to approval by their supervisors and agencies, based on the nature and demands of the jobs.

“The people who understand the work will determine what will be the appropriate schedule — the supervisor and the employee,” McDermid said.

The number of days of telework allowed each week will be based “on what’s appropriate for the job they do and also what’s appropriate for the agency,” she said.

Youngkin has made clear that he wants employees — public and private — to return to their offices as much as possible as the pandemic appears to wane.

“People are coming back to work and we are on a path to normalcy,” he said during a public appearance at Google’s state headquarters in Reston last month.

The governor said then that his administration was working on a process to return state employees to their offices.

“And I think that’s important,” he said in response to a question by the Richmond Times-Dispatch. “I think it’s important for collaboration. ... I think it’s really important for Virginians, who pay for our state government, to know that we are all fully engaged, and will have a process for getting everybody back to work.”

However, Youngkin also said he recognizes that telework “still has a place, and I think we can actually find a great, great kind of ... new work environment that really is focused around the office, but also acknowledges that there are needs and benefits from having telework.”

In his announcement on Thursday, the governor promised policies that “balance the demands of government services with the needs of our public servants,” but his administration also faces a challenge in balancing the desire to bring employees back into their offices against the danger of losing them to private companies that are willing to give them greater flexibility in where they work.

“The workforce dynamic has changed within the technology industry, especially for talented engineering and cybersecurity resources,” said Jon Ozovek, former chief operating officer at the Virginia Information Technologies Agency, which is playing a key role in supporting the return of state employees to their offices. “That’s an expectation now — flexibility and the ability to work remotely as long as outcomes are achieved.”

“A lot of private sector companies are watching [the return of state employees] to potentially come in now and recruit top talent,” said Ozovek, who resigned soon after Youngkin replaced Nelson Moe as chief information officer at the technology agency in January.

The VRS is mindful of those new expectations, Chenault said. “VRS has learned that flexibility has become more valued by the labor market and our intention is to maintain a hybrid work model as we move forward.”

VITA has been part of four months of preparations for the new telework policy, which will require state offices to handle demands for technology to deal remotely with customers, such as Zoom conferencing and video.

“We have taken our time,” McDermid said. “We have analyzed the network, and we have upgraded parts of the network. I think we’re ready.”