Gov. Phil Scott’s controversial return-to-office order is back in force for state employees after the Vermont Supreme Court Friday overturned a regulatory body’s decision to cancel his directive.
In late 2025, Scott attempted to end COVID-era work-from-home practices by ordering all state employees back to the office at least three days a week. Administration officials said the move was necessary to restore “collaboration, communication, and connection” in the executive branch.
The Vermont State Employees' Association, the union that represents about 6,000 state employees, quickly appealed to the Vermont Labor Relations Board. The three-person panel ruled in VSEA’s favor in April, saying Scott’s directive substantially altered the terms of a state telework policy that was subject to the collective bargaining agreement.
“I think there’s a lot of state employees who have voted for Phil Scott in the past who are requesting Amanda Janoo signs this afternoon."Steve Howard, Vermont State Employees' Association
The state’s highest court unanimously reversed that decision Friday. In an 18-page ruling, it said the state policy that governs “telework” gives the governor broad authority to alter its terms.
“Under the plain language of the Telework Policy, the State is not required to make any particular showing regarding its operational needs before it terminates a telework agreement,” the justices wrote. “The State is not required to demonstrate its needs or to achieve any level of proof to support its decision to approve or terminate telework.”
Steve Howard, executive director of VSEA, said the months-long legal battle could have been avoided if Scott had worked with union members to negotiate a mutually beneficial arrangement.
“All the governor had to do was come talk to us and we would have likely worked something out with him,” he said.
Howard said the ruling will have potentially career-ending impacts for the more than 2,500 state workers who, according to a 2023 survey, work from home more than two days a week.
“We have employees living an hour and a half, two hours away from Waterbury and Burlington, where most state offices are located, because there’s no place to live and there’s no childcare,” he said.
The Vermont State Employees' Association, one of the largest labor organizations in the state, has endorsed Scott’s Democratic challenger, Amanda Janoo, in the race for governor. Howard said the court’s ruling, with fewer than six weeks until Election Day, will become an energizing force for the state employees who oppose Scott’s order.
“I think there’s a lot of state employees who have voted for Phil Scott in the past who are requesting Amanda Janoo signs this afternoon," Howard said.
The Scott administration didn’t respond to an interview request Friday. The governor previously blasted the labor relations board’s ruling, calling it 'biased'.”
A survey of 4,000 U.S. workers earlier this year by FlexJobs, a national company that promotes remote work options, found that 58% say their “ideal work style is fully remote.” Nearly half said remote work was “best for their mental health.”
Keith Spencer, who works for the company, said organizations limit remote work options at their own peril.
“It typically provides broader access to talent,” he said. “You’re expanding your potential talent pool beyond just your immediate geographic area, and that flexibility also tends to attract a wider range of applicants.”
City officials in Montpelier welcomed Scott’s return-to-office order last year. Municipal officials said the number of state employees coming to the downtown had fallen by more than half since the state expanded remote work options.
