Gov. Phil Scott exceeded his authority last year when he ordered state employees back to the office at least three days a week without negotiating with their union, a labor board ruled on Wednesday.
In a 60-page decision, the Vermont Labor Relations Board ordered the state to rescind the policy, give workers the option of returning to full remote work, and reimburse them for any losses they might have suffered because of the policy.
The decision was cheered by the Vermont State Employees Association, the state’s largest union, but blasted by Scott. In a statement, the office of the Republican governor called the labor board “broken” and vowed to appeal the decision to the Vermont Supreme Court.
“Given the harm to Vermonters and our operations, and the extremely dangerous precedent this decision sets for future governors, we will appeal this flawed, biased decision made by a non-judicial Board outside the court of law,” the statement said.
Steve Howard, VSEA’s executive director, called Scott’s attack on the board “ironic” given that Scott appointed or reappointed all five of its members.
Howard said he found the ruling “well-conceived and well thought out.”
“I applaud the labor board because they stood on the side of collective bargaining, they stood up for workers who were harmed by the governor’s unilateral announcement,” Howard said.
The decision hinged on whether Scott, as chief executive, had the power to require all remote workers to return to the office at least three days a week. The policy applied even to the hundreds of employees who live out of state, including dozens who accepted positions that were fully remote when they were hired. It went into effect on December 1 and impacted about 3,000 workers.
The board found that state’s policy around telework was specifically written to give department heads and “appointing authorities” control over remote work, not the governor. The board also found that state officials’ explanation about the need for the sweeping policy change were “circular and elusive.”
In its statement, the governor’s office said the decision, and the costs it would have for taxpayers, was an “unacceptable outcome.”
“Governor Scott firmly believes our standard balances the interests of state employees with Vermonters’ expectations and our goals for team collaboration and communication,” the statement read. “While he recognizes some of our employees disagree with our approach, he continues to see it as essential to our service to Vermonters and building strong, collaborative teams across agencies and departments.”
In addition to calling the board “broken,” the statement from the governor’s office claimed that “a fair, unbiased process is impossible with the present Board makeup.”
That struck Howard right out of the playbook of another, albeit less popular, Republican politician.
“For a governor who complains a lot about Donald Trump, he certainly sounds a lot like Donald Trump,” Howard said.
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