State and employees' union butt heads over telework in Vermont's highest court

[Omaha Steve]

The Supreme Court heard oral arguments over whether Gov. Phil Scott had the right to order state employees back to the office without union bargaining.
by Erin Petenko June 18, 2026, 6:09 pm

https://vtdigger.org/2026/06/18/state-and-employees-union-butt-heads-over-telework-in-vermonts-highest-court/

MONTPELIER — The state of Vermont and the Vermont State Employees’ Association presented oral arguments to the Vermont Supreme Court Thursday over whether the state had the right to change employees’ telework arrangements without bargaining with the union first.

The debate represented the culmination of 10 months of union activism and legal challenges against Gov. Phil Scott’s three days per week return-to-office order.

The 8,000 unionized state employees are awaiting the Supreme Court’s word for “what their rights will look like on the other side of this decision,” said the union’s attorney, Alfred Gordon O’Connell, at the hearing.

Scott first announced in August that state employees would be required to come in person to state offices three days per week starting in December. Many had begun working from home during the Covid-19 pandemic, and flooding of state offices further normalized working from home for many employees.

FULL story at link above.


Vermont State Employees Association attorney Alfred Gordon O’Connell, right, speaks as the Vermont Supreme Court considers the union’s suit against the Scott Administration’s back-to-office order in Montpelier on Thursday, June 18, 2026. Photo by Glenn Russell/VTDigger

[MichMan]

1. Was the mandate to work remotely during Covid established through bargaining or executive orders?