Following Trump’s lead, Gov. Abbott pushes state agencies to end telework

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Texas state agency leaders have begun instructing employees to return to the office full time following a directive from Gov. Greg Abbott’s office to end telework policies, according to three emails from agency directors obtained by The Texas Tribune.

“Teleworking employees must return to the office on or before March 31, 2025,” reads a Wednesday email Texas Workforce Commission Executive Director Ed Serna sent to the agency’s 4,700 or so employees. There will be “very limited” exceptions to the policy, and the parameters of those exceptions are still being finalized, Serna wrote.

Similar emails were sent by the directors of the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles, the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation and the Texas Health and Human Services Commission. Employees at the Texas Department of Transportation said they were told verbally about the return to office directive. Those announcements created chaos for agency leaders tasked with bringing thousands of workers back to offices that, in some cases, have been downsized to save money. And it upset some state workers who said they get more accomplished when they work from home.

Abbott’s push to end telework follows President Donald Trump’s January executive order requiring federal department heads to “terminate remote work arrangements.” Trump and Elon Musk, the billionaire in charge of Trump’s cost-cutting efforts, have threatened to fire employees who do not report to the office.

Federal workers “will either show up for work in person or be removed from their job,” Trump said in his joint address to Congress on Tuesday.

In a statement, Abbott’s press secretary alluded to Trump’s mandate to end remote work but did not provide details about the state’s new directive, including whether there would be penalties for noncompliance.

“Texans expect their public servants to be present and engaged in the work on their behalf,” press secretary Andrew Mahaleris said in an emailed statement. “With remote federal workers returning to the office where possible, it’s important that state agencies ensure they do the same.”

State agencies have discretion to decide when employees must return to the office but have been directed to do so as quickly as possible, according to multiple state employees, who have asked to remain anonymous for fear of retaliation. Texas has 114 state agencies that employ about 141,000 full time employees, according to Texas 2036.

Courtney Arbour, executive director of Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, sent a notice to its employees on Tuesday, stating workers must be in the office “as soon as practicable.”

“We are taking a thoughtful approach to any guidance beyond what is included here,” Arbour wrote. “We will continue sharing information in the coming days.” Arbour did not immediately respond to the Tribune’s request for comment.

Requiring employees to return to the office could drive up costs and lead to high turnover, said Myko Gedutis, vice president and organizing coordinator for the Texas State Employees Union, which represents about 8,000 state workers and retirees.

“This doesn’t seem to be a rational decision,” Gedutis said. “It seems to be politically driven posturing that will undermine state services.” Gedutis said he had been fielding several calls and emails from state employees worried about a return-to-office mandate.

State workers have been on edge about a possible change in remote work policies since last month, when a Senate Finance Committee invited the Legislative Budget Board to present their findings from a fall 2024 survey of state agencies’ remote work policies.

Of the 96 executive and judicial agencies that responded to the survey, 92 allowed for some form of remote work, the LBB told the committee. An overwhelming majority of them — 80 agencies — reported a positive impact on recruitment and retention; the remainder reported no impact or did not respond to that question.

The Texas Workforce Commission reported that their remote working policy has saved nearly $1 million annually in facility related costs. Those savings were directed to vocational rehabilitation programs and other client services, the agency reported. The agency has allowed for some form of remote work for more than a decade, according to the director’s Wednesday email to employees. The agency expanded remote work practices during the COVID-19 pandemic.

After hearing from the LBB, lawmakers said they were still concerned that remote work could affect the quality of service state agencies provide. “If you ask the customer who has to deal with remote scheduled people, I think the response would be an overwhelming, ‘This ain’t working,’” Sen. Charles Perry, R-Lubbock said.

At the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles, the return-to-office directive means employees could be coming back to a building that doesn’t have room for them.

“We quite literally don’t have physical places to put people,” said one employee who asked to remain anonymous. The agency employs about 850 people, and its headquarters are currently under renovations.

In an email to its staff, the agency’s executive director Daniel Avitia said the agency will be strategic with how staff return to the office’s limited space at its headquarters in Austin.

Disclosure: Texas 2036 has been a financial supporter of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune's journalism. Find a complete list of them here.

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