Committee Considers Bill to Send State Workers Back to Office

Employees of state agencies that provide human services could have to return to in-person work more frequently if a bill that recently had a public hearing before the Labor and Public Employees Committee moves forward.

HB 5389 would allow the commissioner of agencies that provide human services to “establish an on-site or in-person work policy that requires the employees of such agency to work on-site or in person while providing such human services.” Under the bill, employees could be required to work on-site up to 60 percent of the time.

Rep. Vincent Candelora, R-North Branford, opened a March 5 public hearing with testimony in support of the bill on behalf of the House Republican Caucus. Candelora said there were “several drivers” to look at in the motivation behind the bill.

“The work from home status that was granted onto state employees went through arbitration, did not come through a collective bargaining process where the state could sort of weigh in, the legislature, the policy decisions.” Candelora said, adding it was difficult to understand the impact work from home is having on state agency’s ability to function and provide services. Candelora added he was hearing from constituents who are having a hard time getting state agencies to respond to phone calls.

“What we do hear from constituents is that they have a hard time getting people on the phone in certain agencies, especially in social services, and a lot of our constituents have begun to rely on the legislative branch to sort of help facilitate interaction with the administrative branch.” Candelora said. He also mentioned the economic impact state agencies working from home has on Hartford, with state office buildings largely sitting empty.

But according to Candelora, the primary driver behind the bill was three reports from the Office of the Child Advocate on three children who died while in the custody of the Department of Children and Families (DCF). Candelora referenced two reports from the OCA that recommended the legislature review telework policies. Specifically, an October 2023 investigation report on the death of Liam R. recommended the legislature “review the impact of telework and workloads on DCF case practice and supervision.”

“That’s what I’m asking for today, that we actually begin this inquiry.” Candelora said.

“If that doesn’t motivate us to take a look at telework,” he said of the three recent child fatalities, “I don’t know what will. But I think we have to assess it, because it’s gone on unilaterally from the state perspective without any evaluation of whether or not critical jobs are being performed and who is staying home, who could do their job from home, and who could be out in the field.”

Asked by Sen. Rob Sampson, R-Wolcott, about whether the language in the bill, which says a commissioner “may” establish a policy to require more in-office workdays, was trying to get somewhere else, Candelora described the bill as a stopgap. He expressed support for a task force to measure the impact current remote work policies have on the efficiency of government services, such as whether licenses are being processed at the same level as before remote work policies went into effect.

Candelora also recounted the experience of a constituent who is fighting stage 4 cancer and whose insurance he said was accidentally dropped by the Department of Social Services (DSS). According to Candelora, the family spent 24 hours on the phone trying to make sure her insurance would cover her surgery before reaching out to his office.

“Here’s a woman who’s fighting for her life and can’t get somebody on the phone to alleviate her concerns of whether or not she could have cancer surgery the next day. And that is the reality we’re facing every single day.” he said.

“It’s one thing to not be able to renew your license, but you can’t get a life back.” he added, referencing the recent child fatalities.

Several individuals who worked for agencies that would be affected by the bill also testified in opposition to it, stating the number of in-office and remote days is an issue that has already been settled.

“When issues come up about working conditions we have a process in place where we meet with the departments and negotiate a resolution. On-site versus telework to provide services has already been negotiated and resolved between the unions representing human services workers and the departments. We have numerous systems in place that assist our clients in pursuing benefits through DSS. Since the onset of the pandemic these systems have been a critical part of our daily work process. If this process needs to be changed, our union will meet with them again to negotiate a resolution that is fair to everyone involved.” said Sheryl Feducia, an eligibility specialist with DSS and vice president of the agency’s union.

Feducia also answered questions from committee members about how the agency’s work process has changed since the pandemic and the institution of remote work policies. According to Feducia, prior to the pandemic, when agency workers were always in the office and did not have an online process, they were “bombarded with lengthy lines” and long wait times.

Now, Feducia says some clients schedule appointments, some walk in, and workers are on the phones “every day” to assist them. Feducia says eligibility workers are in the office 40 percent of the time. She added that the office she works in does not have enough booths for workers to be in the service center meeting face-to-face with clients and that a lot of workers are back at their desks and processing work via computer.

The committee received over 300 pieces of written testimony on the bill, with the overwhelming majority in opposition to it. A majority of testimony was submitted by employees of DCF and DSS. Many pieces of testimony were also submitted anonymously.

This article originally appeared on InsideInvestigator.org.