Youngkin tightens remote work policies for Virginia state employees – The Washington Post

RICHMOND — Gov. Glenn Youngkin is ending the liberal telework policies that have been in place for employees since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, billing the move as a way to make the state government more innovative and customer-friendly.

All employees will be expected to return to in-person work full-time by July 5, unless they’ve been granted an exception for health or other reasons.

“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 Republican said in a statement Thursday announcing the new policy.

Many Virginia employees have been allowed to telework since early 2020, when fears of the coronavirus shuttered public and private workplaces across the country.

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Youngkin built his successful campaign for governor last year partly on the premise that Democrats had gone overboard with pandemic shutdowns and restrictions, including the extended closure of schools and the suspension of walk-in services at the Department of Motor Vehicles.

Youngkin campaigned hard against mask mandates in schools and issued an executive order on his first day in office rescinding a vaccine mandate imposed on state workers by his Democratic predecessor, Ralph Northam.

But his action on remote work is not out of step with more liberal jurisdictions nearby. Public employees in Maryland and D.C. have been back to in-person work since July.

Under Youngkin’s new policy, state employees will be allowed to seek exceptions for health reasons or other personal considerations, and Youngkin said his new policy “supports the use of telework where appropriate.”

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But senior administration officials will have to sign off on any exceptions. Only an agency head can approve any request to telework one day per week. A Cabinet secretary must sign off for two days per week. Three or more days a week will require permission from Chief of Staff Jeff Goettman.

“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,” said Youngkin, who encouraged state workers to not wait until then to return to the workplace.

Youngkin’s office did not have information on the share of the state workforce working remotely.

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