Gov. Evers Vetoes In-Person Work Mandate for State Employees
Governor says flexible work arrangements cut costs, help recruit workers.
Hill Farms State Office Building in Madison, Wis. Bill Martens/WPR
Democratic Gov. Tony Evers has quashed a GOP-backed bill that would have ordered tens of thousands of state employees to work in-person most of the time.
The original bill would have mandated in-person work for affected employees 100 percent of the time. Republican lawmakers later amended it to require in-office attendance during at least 80 percent of someone’s working hours in a given month.
For many employees, that would have amounted to four days of in-person work each week.
A 2023 audit found that most Wisconsin state offices allow some form of remote work, although policies vary by agency.
Evers blasts ‘one-size-fits-all’ mandate
In his veto message Friday, Evers said he opposes a “one-size-fits-all” mandate that would come at “great cost to taxpayers.”
“Under my administration, state government is working smarter and faster than ever before,” Evers wrote. “State agencies already are implementing robust accountability measures to ensure all state workers are fulfilling their responsibilities to the people of this state.”
The vetoed mandate would have hurt Wisconsin’s ability to recruit workers —especially those who live outside Madison, said Joanna Frasch the vice president of AFSCME Local 1. That chapter represents about 50 state workers in southern Wisconsin counties, including Dane, Rock and Jefferson.
“(In) my team, specifically, we have members from all across the state,” said Frasch, a staffer at Wisconsin’s Department of Workforce Development. “We definitely benefit in the work that we do … from having folks from different different areas of the state give insights.”
Frasch also questioned how the state would make room for a resurgence of in-person workers.
“It would require leasing or purchasing of more property to accommodate everybody coming back to the office,” Frasch said. “I work in the GEF 1 building, and our agency has consolidated to one floor, and another agency has moved in with us. So there’s no there’s no room for everyone anymore.”
The state has already begun the process of exiting leases and selling off buildings, as part of Evers’ “Vision 2030” plan to downsize state office space.
The Department of Administration estimates that plan will save Wisconsin $7 million in annual occupancy expenses. It’s also projected to save half a billion dollars in deferred maintenance costs, by allowing Wisconsin to avoid fixing up old buildings.
If they hadn’t been vetoed, the new requirements would have taken effect on Dec. 31, 2025.
Republicans say their goal is accountability
The 2023 audit noted that several dozen agencies did not have a centralized method for tracking which workers were in the office each day, prompting Republicans to accuse Evers’ administration of poor oversight.
“Without basic oversight, it’s nearly impossible to measure effectiveness and productivity,” state Rep. Amanda Nedweski, R-Pleasant Prairie, said just before the proposal cleared Wisconsin’s Assembly in September. “What began as an emergency response has become a permanent work entitlement.”
As amended, the legislation included an exception for workers who were already allowed to work remotely before the COVID-19 pandemic struck in 2020. It also would have exempted employees of the State of Wisconsin Investment Board, which manages state retirement funds and other assets.
The goal of the legislation was ensuring accountability, sponsors said.
“We owe it to the taxpayers to make sure that the productivity and efficiency of our state employees is at its highest,” Nedweski said earlier this fall.
The proposal passed the Assembly with only Republicans in support and only Democrats against. It passed the Senate mostly along party lines, with state Sen. Howard Marklein, R-Spring Green, joining Democrats in voting against.
Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers vetoes in-person work mandate for state employees was originally published by Wisconsin Public Radio.
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