State workers who live in faraway states must relocate to Vermont or within commuting distance within nine months in order to keep their jobs, Gov. Phil Scott’s leadership team announced on Friday afternoon.
The decision addresses how out-of-state workers will be treated under Scott’s new back-to-office requirement, which takes effect December 1. The new hybrid work policy requires all employees — regardless of where they live — to work from the office at least three days a week. Two days of remote work will be permitted.
How that will affect the dozens of workers who live in California, Texas, South Carolina and elsewhere has been a burning question since the policy shift was announced in August.
“We fully acknowledge the very real and significant impact this principle … has on employees who currently live in another state,” Sarah Clark, secretary of administration, said in an email to employees.
The new policy gives out-of-state workers until June 30, 2026, to begin reporting to the office three days a week if they agree in writing that they will relocate. They must do so by November 21.
If they commit to doing so, the person’s current remote work arrangement will be honored, the new policy reads. If the person either can’t or won’t relocate, the state will look for someone else to do their job, the policy reads. In specific cases where someone else can’t be found to do that same work, exceptions can be made but only with the approval of the governor’s cabinet.
“It will require a rigorous approval process and will need to be reviewed annually,” the policy reads.
Exceptions may be granted for spouses of military members who relocate or in certain cases involving court orders or if someone’s personal safety is at risk, such as if they have a stalker.
Steve Howard, executive director of the Vermont State Employees’ Association, which represents about 6,000 people in the state’s workforce, said the new policy shows the “short-sightedness of this whole endeavor.”
“I think all this is going to cause is the loss of a lot of talent,” Howard said.
The policy appears designed to “push people out,” with little regard for how the Vermonters being served by those workers will be affected, he said.
“I think this is the DOGEing of Vermont,” Howard said, referring to the so-called Department of Government Efficiency formerly run by billionaire businessman Elon Musk. “This is Phil Scott aligning with Elon Musk and Donald Trump in a state that does not align with Elon Musk and Donald Trump.”
Scott has argued that the return-to-office mandate is more about team building and ensuring that workers are more available to serve Vermonters.
“The reality is, we need to get together more in person across departments and agencies,” he has said. “It’s not hard to see that something has been lost when we only see each other on the screen.”
Howard said all the policy will do is make it harder to retain talented workers and put pressure on the real estate market for those who are forced to return to keep their jobs.
State officials have said they are also working on a separate commuting policy that might create exemptions for people with long commutes, but that policy has yet to be approved.