AUSTIN (Nexstar) — A spokesperson for the Governor’s Office confirmed Texas agencies will follow the lead from the federal government to end hybrid work schedules where possible and bring workers back into the office full-time.
Multiple people have reached out to Nexstar asking if Gov. Greg Abbott is mandating state agencies to end hybrid work schedules for state employees. Andrew Mahaleris, a spokesperson for the Governor’s Office, sent this statement to Nexstar:
“State agencies have been in office, and any remote work policies must ensure taxpayer dollars are being utilized efficiently. Texans expect their public servants to be present and engaged in the work on their behalf. With remote federal workers returning to the office where possible, it’s important that state agencies ensure they do the same.”
The White House sent out an official memo on January 20 stating, “Heads of all departments and agencies in the executive branch of Government shall, as soon as practicable, take all necessary steps to terminate remote work arrangements and require employees to return to work in-person at their respective duty stations on a full-time basis, provided that the department and agency heads shall make exemptions they deem necessary.”
The Legislative Budget Board released a report for each agency in October detailing the remote policy each agency has and whether or not it has created any impact.
What are agencies saying?
During the first ever DOGE committee hearing in the House of Representatives this week, Brian Guthrie, the executive director of the Teacher Retirement System of Texas, answered questions relating to remote work at his agency.
Rep. Daniel Alders, a Republican from Tyler, asked Guthrie about the employees who work from home. “Do you imagine if those employees were not working from home, but were in the office, that you could operate more efficiently,” Alders asked.
“We have not seen a dip in operating efficiency with having those employees have a day or two being able to work from home, but we recognize that that the trend is to return to the office,” Guthrie said.
He went on to say he would make employees come back on one exception based off of what they learned from remote work following Covid.
“We learned that it was much more efficient to actually deliver telephone counseling services from home. Sure. We also found that we could employ statewide for telephone counselors. Finding them in Austin is nearly impossible, given the marketplace, but if you being able to offer that to individuals outside of the Austin area has been tremendously beneficial for us, and that’s why we have the customer service levels that we do,” Guthrie said.
He went on to say if he was told to bring employees back to the office five days a week he would do so with open arms, but he would like to have his telephone counselors stay at home. Between 200 and 300 people are telephone counselors at TRS, according to Guthrie.
Alders then asked if Guthrie had a plan to bring people back five days a week. Guthrie responded saying it was an easing-in process, but said it would not be hard to implement as some employees do not take advantage of working from home on certain days.
“I think that we are reaching a point where being able to pull the plug on that, if you will, would not be as problematic as it perhaps two even two years ago,” Guthrie explained.
Nexstar is reaching out to every state agency to confirm which hybrid policies will be ending, or if the agency has already sent out messaging to its employees. You can check back here throughout the day as we update our story. Here is a list of the agencies we have reached out to:
Legislative Budget Board
A spokesperson with the agency said, “No guidance has recently been provided to our staff regarding telework policies. All of our employees are currently required to work full-time in office.”
Sunset Advisory Commission
Waiting to hear back from the agency.
State Bar of Texas
Waiting to hear back from the agency.
Attorney General
Waiting to hear back from the agency.
Comptroller of Public Accounts
Waiting to hear back from the agency.
General Land Office
Waiting to hear back from the agency.
Secretary of State
Waiting to hear back from the agency.
State Auditor
Waiting to hear back from the agency.
Department of Information Resources
Waiting to hear back from the agency.
Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs
Waiting to hear back from the agency.
Texas Lottery Commission
Waiting to hear back from the agency.
Texas Military Department
Waiting to hear back from the agency.
Texas Veterans Commission
Waiting to hear back from the agency.
Department of Public Safety
Waiting to hear back from the agency.
Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation
Waiting to hear back from the agency.
Texas Department of Insurance
Waiting to hear back from the agency.
Railroad Commission of Texas
A representative with the Railroad Commission said, “We have not sent anything to employees. The agency currently has a telework program.”
Public Utility Commission of Texas
Waiting to hear back from the agency.
Texas Medical Board
We have not heard back from an official spokesperson of the TMB, but an employee did anonymously share an internal email from executive director Brint Carlton. The employee said two weeks ago employees were told productivity was so good and goals were being exceeded, there were no plans to go back to the office.
The email from Carlton on Wednesday signaled a change is coming. The email reads, “We know some of you have heard from other agencies that changes to telework policies are coming. We have heard this as well, but have not yet received official guidance. As of today, there are no changes at TMB. We will update you when we have more information.”
The email continues, “In the meantime, we all might want to think through different scenarios, needs, or plans if changes are made. We understand such changes will be challenging for some staff. We will do our best to provide as much support as we can.”
Health and Human Services Commission
An employee with Health and Human Services shared an email sent to staff on Thursday “directing all supervisors to ensure offices and leased spaces are fully occupied by March 31.”
The employee said “Yesterday, during our new mandatory in office day all teams in the division were sent a meeting invite with little to no notice. During these meetings we were all informed that the governor issued orders to return to office and it was just confirmed for leadership the previous night at 9pm. Leadership seemed unable to answer any questions that were raised by staff and cited the orders vague wording and a multitude of logistics uncertainties.”
A spokesperson with the agency sent the exact same email to Nexstar.
Department of State Health Services
A representative with the Department of State Health Services sent an bulletin from the department’s Commissioner Dr. Jennifer Shuford, confirming “they have received “the legislature and state leadership would like state agency employees who telework to return to state offices.”
However, the change might not be immediate.
“We also know that things like space constraints need to be taken into consideration. So in the coming days and weeks, we will need to determine what a practical DSHS return-to-office plan might look like,” Shuford wrote. “In the meantime, I ask you to please keeping doing the excellent work you’re doing.”
Department of Agriculture
Waiting to hear back from the agency.
Teacher Retirement System of Texas
Waiting to hear back from agency.
Texas Division of Emergency Management
Waiting to hear back from the agency.
Texas A&M Forest Service
Waiting to hear back from the agency.
Texas Water Development Board
Waiting to hear back from the agency.
Texas Commission on Environment Quality
An employee with the agency anonymously shared an email that was sent to TCEQ workers from executive director Kelly Keel. The email said, “TCEQ will transition to a return to office posture over the next several months.”
Texas Department of Transportation
Waiting to hear back from the agency.
Texas Department of Motor Vehicles
A spokesperson with the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles confirmed they are working to return staff to the office after a “verbal notification from the Office of the Governor.”
In an email sent to employees Wednesday morning, Executive Director Daniel Avitia told employees, “I realize we are temporarily restricted in the space available at regional offices, and both space and parking availability at the Austin headquarters with construction of new facilities underway. Because of these restrictions and operational considerations, we plan to be strategic with how we return to our available office environments. We do plan to continue leveraging telework options in some form and will be reviewing other flexible schedule options where appropriate.”
Texas Department of Criminal Justice
A spokesperson for the agency said, “TDCJ is reviewing its remote work policy. It is worth noting, however, because of the nature of our work (correctional officers, support staff for the units), the majority of TDCJ’s workforce does not work remotely.”
Texas Education Agency
Waiting to hear back from the agency.
Parks and Wildlife Department
A spokesperson for the agency said, “Texas Parks and Wildlife Department is currently reviewing and revising our telework plan and will communicate with TPWD employees in timely manner.”
