State delays order for employees working remotely to return to the office
Daniel J. Chacón, The Santa Fe New Mexican
6 min read
Jan. 3—The state of New Mexico has delayed a sweeping order for all state workers who have been working remotely to return to the office.
While all exempt employees, managers, supervisors and directors were instructed Friday afternoon to report back to the office Tuesday, all other employees who have been working remotely won't have to do so for another month.
"Non-manager and non-supervisor employees on a 100% telework or hybrid telework schedule will return to the office full-time on or before February 2, 2023," Teresa Padilla, director of the State Personnel Office, wrote in a memo.
The delayed implementation of return to in-person work comes after the State Personnel Office, commonly referred to as SPO, informed employees late last month it was rescinding a telework policy and that everyone would have to report back to the office at the first of the year.
The decision has sparked pushback from labor groups who have described the directive as unnecessary and warned it could result in even higher vacancy rates in state government, especially among employees who have to commute, don't have access to childcare or are dealing with other circumstances that would make going back to the office difficult.
Padilla wrote in an email Monday state government "amended" the full-time return to office start date following discussions with Local 7076 of the Communications Workers of America and Council 18 of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees.
While SPO reached an agreement with AFSCME "after collaborative and productive discussions with leadership," Padilla wrote, it is at an impasse with leaders of Local 7076.
"The State Personnel Office is continuing to identify any work location availability issues and will work directly with State agencies to address them on a case-by-case basis," she wrote. "The extension through February 2, 2023, will allow employees more time to make the necessary arrangements to prepare for full-time, in-person work."
Padilla wrote the personnel office has not been made aware of resignations as a result of the decision to rescind the telework policy. Asked about the feedback her office has received from employees, she wrote it has received a form email from less than 5 percent of the 16,625 classified employees in state government.
"In general, we believe most state government employees understand the benefits of being present in the office to serve our customers and constituents," she wrote.
Megan Green, executive vice president of Local 7076 of the Communications Workers of America, said Monday she believes the start date for the return to in-person work was delayed because the state government didn't plan properly. Local 7076 represents a cross section of employees, including environmental scientists, nurses and health care aides across 13 state agencies, including the Environment, Health and Public Education departments. The union represents 2,500 positions, 800 of which are currently vacant.
"I think they tried to cancel telework with absolutely no plan in place and now they're realizing they need to take a step back and make a plan," Green said, adding a one-month delay may be insufficient.
"I know several agencies have to lease a lot of additional space, and I don't understand how that can be done in one month with the state's process for leasing spaces and purchasing and all that," Green said. "I mean, it could take a month to buy a pair of work boots, so I don't know how we can lease a bunch of new office space in a month. It still seems pretty shortsighted to me."
While a recent report by the Legislative Finance Committee found the state is underutilizing office space, a spokesman for the General Services Department, which includes the Facilities Management Division, recently said state-owned office buildings in Santa Fe are at or near capacity.
Green said the union asked the personnel office during negotiations to provide information about its return to in-person work plan, including where employees would be seated and whether the state government would be able to meet minimum space requirement guidelines.
"They couldn't, obviously; they can't at this point," she said. "They don't know where people are going to be working, and I don't think they can do it in a month, but they seem to think they can do it in a month, I guess."
Green said the impasse between Local 7076 and the personnel office will have to be settled in court.
"We believe they need to bargain the full [telework] policy cancelation with us, so we have already filed a prohibitive practices complaint about that but agreed to talk about the effects [of rescinding the policy] because we were really concerned they were going to try and bring everyone back on Jan. 3 without office space," she said.
Connie Derr, executive director of AFSCME Council 18, which represents more than 6,000 state government employees, said the labor group negotiated for the additional 30 days to help employees who have been working remotely prepare to return to the office.
Labor leaders had complained about the lack of notice state government had given employees on telework status to return to the office.
Derr wrote in an email many of the union's members said the most significant issue they faced was not enough time to make other arrangements, such as for a child or elderly family member, "and any other personal responsibilities that arose during their telework status."
Derr wrote workplaces are changing, "and AFSCME strongly believes that a permanent telework policy must be an option that we negotiate with the State in the very near future."
Green said Local 7076 will continue to fight the decision to rescind the telework policy.
"The legislative session starts in 14 days now, so I think that gives us a good chance to approach a wider audience," she said. "We have been talking to legislators and so we're going to keep trying to point out how this is a bad decision for workers."
Padilla wrote the administration of Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, who won a second term in November, is eyeing pay increases for state workers.
"SPO is dedicated to making the state a great place to work, and we are proud to offer a competitive benefit package and retirement benefits," she wrote. "We are looking forward to developing a compensation increase package with the Legislature to ensure that state employees are competitively compensated for the hard work they do on behalf of New Mexicans every day."
Follow Daniel J. Chacón on Twitter @danieljchacon.
Follow Daniel J. Chacón on Twitter @danieljchacon.
