OKLAHOMA CITY (OBV) – Gov. Kevin Stitt’s deadline to end remote work options within state offices is coming up soon.
Stitt issued Executive Order 2024-29 at the end of 2024, requiring state agencies to return full-time employees to in-office work environments by Feb. 1, 2025.
Full-time state employees were allowed to work remotely during the COVID-19 pandemic, which began in early 2020.
Stitt said the remote option needs to end to ensure efficient government operations and accountability and because the pandemic no longer necessitates remote work.
“COVID altered the way we did business for a time, but that time has passed. Now, we need to put stewardship of taxpayer dollars as our top priority,” Stitt said. “Oklahomans deserve a government that operates with full accountability and delivers services effectively. Returning to traditional work environments is a critical step in achieving that goal.”
Executive Order 2024-29 contains the following three key provisions:
- Return to Office Deadline: All full-time state employees are required to perform their duties in their assigned office, facility, or field location by February 1, 2025.
- Limited Exceptions: Agency executives may approve exceptions for: Employees with non-standard work hours (e.g., evenings, weekends, holidays), roles where in-office employment is deemed unreasonable, and agencies facing office space constraints that would require additional expenditures to accommodate employees.
- Transparency and Accountability: Agencies utilizing exceptions must report details to the Office of Management and Enterprise Services (OMES), including employee job descriptions and anticipated return dates. Quarterly reports on remote or hybrid workforce composition will be submitted to OMES starting March 31, 2025.
Rick Rose, the state’s COO and Office of Management and Enterprise Services (OMES) director, expressed his support for ending the remote work option within state agencies.
“It’s time for our government to fully return to the workplace. By bringing state employees back to their offices, we are reaffirming our commitment to providing the best, most efficient service possible for the people of Oklahoma,” Rose said.
Newly-inaugurated Indiana Governor Mike Braun recently announced that he is eliminating remote, hybrid and work-from-home options for Indian’s state employees.
The push to end remote work will be happening on the federal level too.
President-elect Donald Trump has stated his opposition to remote work. Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, the leaders of Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), said they plan to cut $500 billion from the federal budget and reduce the number of federal workers by 75 percent. They said in a Wall Street Journal op-ed that they welcome federal workers quitting in opposition to an in-office work mandate.
“Requiring federal employees to come to the office five days a week would result in a wave of voluntary terminations that we welcome: If federal employees don’t want to show up, American taxpayers shouldn’t pay them for the Covid-era privilege of staying home,” Musk and Ramaswamy said in the op-ed.
