COLUMBUS, Ohio – State workers can’t dial it in anymore in Ohio.
Governor Mike DeWine issued an executive order Tuesday directing all permanent state workers to stop working remotely and return to work at their offices or work facilities. They must return to work at a physical location by March 17, 2025.
The executive order outlines these requirements:
State agencies, boards, and commissions under the authority of the Governor
Gov. DeWine’s Executive Order 2025-01D: Return to Office for State of Ohio Employees.
(collectively referred to as agency or agencies) shall require all permanent
employees to routinely perform their duties in the physical office or facility
assigned by their appointing authority, and not routinely from a remote location, no
later than March 17, 2025.
Ohio’s Department of Administrative Services (DAS) will update policies and empower a granting authority to consider exemptions. Possible exemptions to the Return to Office Executive Order are field workers or field workers or “agency employees for whom no
reasonable in-office employment is possible, or other compelling situations and has certified those requests to the Director of DAS.”
The order states it does not abridge any collective bargaining agreements or managerial discretion concerning work locations due to onsite or localized events such as electrical outages, water outages, security events and weather events.
Some State of Ohio workers began remote work during the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020 after the governor declared a state of emergency. Tuesday’s executive order notes that “as a result of remote and hybrid work, the State of Ohio saved millions of
dollars by reducing leased real estate and maximizing the use of state-owned and managed real property.”
The order states the majority of state workers did not work remotely and were at physical locations in positions such as state hospital and direct care employees and correctional and law enforcement officers.
President Trump signed an executive order requiring federal remote workers to return to office on Jan. 20.
You can read DeWine’s full executive order here.
