Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s office said Friday that it missed its deadline to evaluate work-from-home requests as the state’s workforce makes its transition back into the office.
Most Virginia government employees will have to return to the office full time by July 5 — that is, unless they have made a request to keep working from home.
State employees had until May 20 to get requests in to telework, and the administration said it would either approve or deny those requests by June 3.
However, the governor’s Chief of Staff, Jeff Goettman, sent an email to agency heads that said they would not hit the deadline.
In that email he said he anticipated “completion of this step in the process by early next week.”
The governor announced the end of telework in May. He said it will lead to better customer service in the commonwealth.
The approval process for teleworking under the administration is top-heavy. If an employee applied to telework once a week or temporarily, it requires approval from an agency head. Twice a week requires approval from a cabinet secretary. Three or more days must be approved by the chief of staff.
The approval lasts a year, and after that, the agreements are reprocessed annually.
The move to return to the office is delayed compared to neighboring jurisdictions.
D.C. government employees returned to the workplace on June 7, 2021, and Maryland state employees went back to the office last July.
