Commission upholds Nebraska governor’s back-to-office order for state employees

LINCOLN, Neb. (WOWT) - Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen says all state employees should be ready to go back to their workplaces Monday after the Nebraska Commission of Industrial Relations upheld his back-to-office executive order Thursday.

The ruling comes despite a furious effort from the Nebraska Association of Public Employees to stop EO 23-17. The governor’s order, issued in November 2023, required that all state employees return to work at their offices in early January 2024.

But in December, NAPE called on the governor to agree to bargain. When no offer to discuss the matter came to fruition, the union filed a petition with the commission asking the panel to compel the state to negotiate. Ahead of the New Year’s holiday weekend, CIR put a temporary halt on the order.

A contempt motion was filed in January after NAPE/AFSCME Local No. 61 said the state’s health and revenue departments told their employees they had less than two weeks to report to their respective offices, regardless of the CIR’s decision.

On Feb. 5, a Lancaster County judge declined to hold the state in contempt.

Then, on Thursday, the CIR issued an order upholding EO 23-17, removing the temporary halt and allowing state to carry on with the governor’s order. In their analysis, the CIR not only ruled in favor of Pillen, but also accused NAPE of carrying out a “disingenuous maneuver seemingly for the purpose of improperly delaying the [executive order] and boosting membership numbers using the subsequent press coverage.”

“Today’s ruling is a vindication of the state’s right to determine that its public servants will come into work where they can be most productive,” Gov. Pillen said in a response to the ruling. “The COVID-19 pandemic is long over, and it is likewise long overdue that our full workforce is physically back. I am grateful for this thorough and well-reasoned decision and to the state’s personnel and legal teams for their tremendous work in securing this victory on behalf of the people of Nebraska.”

Shortly after Thursday’s ruling, NAPE issued a statement saying it will continue to fight the governor’s executive order as it explores appeal options.

“We believe that the evidence at trial showed that state employees are assigned a work location under the collective bargaining agreement, but the terms of remote work must be negotiated,” the union’s Executive Director Justin Hubly said in a press release. “The decision fails to acknowledge the realities of a 21st century work environment. We are evaluating an appeal to the Nebraska Supreme Court to protect workers’ rights for the future.”

He took exception with the commission’s claim that the petition had been filed “in bad faith” in order to delay the order’s implementation and grow union membership, saying that was “simply wrong.”

“This decision could have a chilling effect by discouraging workers from bringing cases before the CIR,” Hubly said in the release. “Our union will always stand united to protect workers’ rights, and we will not be intimidated.”

NAPE said in their response that the CIR also ordered the union to pay the state’s legal fees.

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