After the state gave a negotiatory cold shoulder, a Nebraska labor court put an executive order issued by Governor Jim Pillen—terminating all remote work assignments for state employees—on ice.
In mid-November, Governor Pillen issued Executive Order (EO) 23-17, recalling all state public employees who have continued to work remotely since the COVID-19 pandemic back into the offices on January 2nd, 2024.
Shortly after, the Nebraska Associated of Public Employees (NAPE) demanded a seat at the bargaining table with Pillen, under the auspices of their employment contract. NAPE’s Executive Director Justin Hubly explained to KLIN News at the time, “Our contract contains a clause that says the employer (the state) agrees not to implement changes unilaterally to the terms and conditions of work that fall outside the scope of the contract… and in fact, remote work is not covered in the contract. It is our opinion that our contract applies here, and it needs to be bargained with us.
As the effective date of the EO neared, the state employees union renewed their request to bargain in early December, coupled with expressed intentions to pursue legal action if ignored. Additionally, citing an existing labor shortage, NAPE shared a stark internal survey that revealed nearly 1400 state employees have considered seeking, are actively searching, or have already applied for new employment following the governor’s executive order.
“That equates to 16% of our NAPE/AFSCME workforce. I don’t know how to put it more simply, we cannot afford to lose 1/6 of our workers,” said Hubly at a State Capitol press conference, during employee’s lunch-break.
The Pillen administration had a week to respond, before lawyers got involved. They did not. Prompting arguments for injunction against the implementation of the EO to be heard by the Nebraska Commission of Industrial Relations (CIR) on December 21st, as reported on by the Nebraska Examiner.
Announced just days before the EO was set to take effect, on Friday, the CIR granted NAPE’s request for a temporary pause on the order until a decision could be reached on Pillen’s jurisdiction over this employment condition.
The CIR stated, “a Temporary Order maintaining the status quo, pursuant to Neb. Reb. Stat. 48-816, must be granted.” Further, the CIR ordered “ the dispute in this matter arose upon the issuance of the Executive Order in question. Accordingly, we are
compelled to find that the status quo in this matter consists of the agency policies relating to the remote work assignments, and the application of those policies, which were in place just prior to the issuance of the Executive Order.”
Further court dates are unlikely to be scheduled prior to February 2024.
Hubly said in an official statement “We believe the CIR’s action was appropriate under the law, and we are glad that the status quo will continue during the proceedings before the Commission.”
NAPE has reiterated, the vast majority of their members—between 75-80% according to Hubly—work in person. But a non-minuscule amount of members provide services remotely, and this EO could exacerbate already dire staffing shortages.
“Nothing in the order prohibits the parties from negotiating,” Hubly told KLIN News following NAPE’s court win, “It is our hope that the Governor changes his mind and meets with us to negotiate a contract. We think that’s a much better way of doing things. When we work together, we know everybody benefits.”
In the meantime, barring any bargaining breakthroughs, Nebraska state employees working remotely will continue to do so until a court decision is reached.