Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt Orders State Employees to Return to Office

Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt (R-Okla.) speaks during a roundtable at the State Dining Room of the White House in Washington on June 18, 2020. Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images

Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt has issued an executive order ending remote work for state employees more than a year after the COVID-19 pandemic ended, with workers expected to return to the office full time by Feb. 1, 2025.

In a Dec. 18 statement, Stitt’s office said the decision reflects his administration’s “commitment to ensuring efficient government operations and accountability to taxpayers” as the pandemic “no longer necessitates remote work accommodations.”

The order requires all full-time state employees to work from their assigned offices, facilities, or field locations by the February deadline. However, it includes limited exceptions for employees who work outside of standard work hours, such as evenings, weekends, and holidays.

It also includes exceptions for state workers “where in-office employment is deemed unreasonable” or if agencies face “space constraints that would require additional expenditures to accommodate employees.”

Agencies seeking exceptions under the order must provide details, including employee job descriptions and expected return dates, to the state’s Office of Management and Enterprise Services (OMES).

The order also requires quarterly reports on the composition of remote or hybrid workforces submitted to OMES beginning March 31, 2025.

“COVID altered the way we did business for a time, but that time has passed,” Stitt, a Republican, said in a statement. “Now, we need to put stewardship of taxpayer dollars as our top priority.”

The governor added that 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,” Stitt said.

President-elect Donald Trump said his administration plans to challenge in court a labor contract allegedly signed by the Biden administration that allows federal workers to continue working remotely until 2029.

Trump made the comments during a press conference at his Mar-a-Lago residence on Dec. 16.

Trump to Challenge Biden Waiver for Federal Workers

The president-elect was referring to a deal allegedly reached between the Social Security Administration (SSA) and the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), which represents 800,000 workers in nearly every federal agency, earlier this month.

The deal allows federal employees to continue working remotely two to five days a week, depending on the job, Bloomberg reported.

Neither the SSA nor AFGE have confirmed details regarding the alleged deal.

House Republicans earlier this month fired off letters to the acting director of the U.S. Office of Personnel Management seeking further information about the deal and any other similar agreements made between federal workers and the Biden administration.

“Somebody in the Biden administration gave a five-year waiver of that, so for five years, people don’t have to come back into the office,” Trump said at the Dec. 16 press conference. “It’s ridiculous. It was like a gift to a union, and we’re obviously going to be in court to stop it.

“If people don’t come back to work, come back into the office, they’re going to be dismissed.”

President-elect Donald Trump speaks at a news conference at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Fla., on Dec. 16, 2024. Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

In a Dec. 16 statement responding to Trump’s comments, AFGE National President Everett Kelley said the union supports telework where it delivers for “both the taxpayers and the workers who serve them.”

Kelley touted the advantages of remote and telework for federal employees, citing increased productivity, greater efficiency, and better disaster preparedness.

The union leader dismissed rumors of widespread federal telework and remote work as “simply untrue,” stating that only 10 percent of federal employees work remotely while those with hybrid work arrangements spend more than 60 percent of their time in the office.

“Collective bargaining agreements entered into by the federal government are binding and enforceable under the law,” Kelley said. “We trust the incoming administration will abide by their obligations to honor lawful union contracts.

“If they fail to do so, we will be prepared to enforce our rights.”