Oklahoma Lawmaker Sues Governor Over State Employee Return-To-Work Policy
by Paul Monies, Oklahoma Watch February 24, 2025
A Democratic lawmaker is challenging Gov. Kevin Stitt’s return-to-work order for state employees, claiming the governor overstepped his authority into policies that should be decided by the legislative branch.
Rep. Andy Fugate, of Del City, filed the lawsuit on Friday in Oklahoma County district court. He’s asking for a temporary injunction against Stitt’s executive order issued on Dec. 18.
Fugate said state employees work for the people, not the governor, and the order has caused chaos for state employees. He said work-from-home flexibility has provided significant benefits for state employees, including more time with family, reduced expenses and an improved work-life balance.
“Today’s workers are knowledge workers, not factory workers, and we measure workers by their productivity, not by their presence,” Fugate said. “Ultimately, this lawsuit is not about whether it’s more productive to have butts in seats. It’s about the office of the governor overstepping its authority.”
Stitt’s executive order called for all state employees to return to the office, with limited exceptions, by Feb. 1. Agencies that eliminated office space in the last few years and would have problems accommodating a full return to office could get an exception from the policy. Agency executives can also approve teleworking for employees with non-standard work hours.
Attorney Richard Labarthe, who is working on Fugate’s case on a pro bono basis, said Stitt’s original work-from-home policy came during the emergency powers granted to him during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic. He said if the Legislature wanted to debate and pass wholesale changes to state employment terms, they are free to do so.
“We do not have laws made by executive or gubernatorial fiat,” Labarthe said. “That is not provided for in our governing document, the state constitution. So this is very much something that’s outside Gov. Stitt’s purview.”
In his state of the state address, Stitt touted his approach to cutting government spending and his return-to-work policy.
“For years, I’ve instructed my cabinet secretaries and agency directors to shrink employee count and cut unnecessary contracts,” Stitt said in the Feb. 3 speech. “I am committed to having fewer state employees at the end of my term than when I took office in 2019. I also mandated an end to work from home policies for state employees to better serve the people of our state.”
In a written statement, Stitt said Fugate’s lawsuit was typical big government, Democrat behavior.
“State employees work for the taxpayer,” Stitt said in the prepared statement. “The data is clear, employees are more productive and accountable when they are working in the office. For the good of the taxpayer, work from home is over.”
Some lawmakers, including Republicans, have expressed reservations about Stitt’s return-to-work policy. In a budget subcommittee hearing last month, Sen. Adam Pugh, R-Edmond, wondered if it could contribute to a loss of talent to the private sector, especially among younger state employees. Pugh worried that agencies would have to come back to the Legislature to request more money for higher salaries since work-from-home wasn’t an option or benefit anymore for state employees.
“I can tell you younger generations are actually looking for things like remote work and virtual work and flexible time instead of pay,” Pugh said in a Jan. 15 hearing for the Commissioners of the Land Office. “Now I think any employee will always ask for more money, but I think quality of life decisions, how they’re able to raise a family, how they’re able to not have to go ask their boss for an hour off so they can go to the doctor. I think those things are very important to a modern workforce.”
The state’s largest agency, the Department of Human Services, has more than 6,300 employees. Just 9%, or about 600 employees, were working fully on-site, the agency disclosed in budget documents in January. The rest were split almost evenly between fully remote or hybrid work arrangements.
The Office of Management and Enterprise Services is collecting responses from agencies about their progress or exceptions requested under the executive order. A report is supposed to be issued by the end of March. Oklahoma Watch has a pending open records request, filed Feb. 4, for agency responses so far.
Lawmakers have sued Stitt several times since he became governor over separation of power issues. The lawsuits largely dealt with disputes over how much authority the governor had to sign or change compacts with various tribal governments. The Oklahoma Supreme Court ruled for the Legislature in separate lawsuits brought in 2020, 2021 and 2024. But the Supreme Court ruled 8-0 in January that the governor had the right to hire his own counsel in disputes with tribal governments, rejecting an argument from Attorney General Gentner Drummond that the AG had the sole authority to litigate those matters on behalf of the state.
This article first appeared on Oklahoma Watch and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.
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SUMMARY: The debate over a $1.1 billion entertainment district in Norman is intensifying. The Rock Creek Entertainment District, approved by the city council, aims to replace the Lloyd Noble Center with new offices, housing, and shopping centers. While many support the arena, concerns have arisen about using taxpayer money through TIF funding. A petition with over 10,000 signatures requested a public vote, but a protest was filed, questioning the petition’s legality. The matter is now in court, with a ruling expected by Friday. If the protest fails, the vote could appear on a future ballot.
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www.thecentersquare.com – By Liam Hibbert | The Center Square contributor – (The Center Square – ) 2025-02-21 18:45:00
(The Center Square) – A bipartisan group of U.S. senators has introduced a bill to use image technicians to ebb the flow of drugs smuggled into the United States from the southern border.
The Border Enforcement, Security and Trade Facilitation Act of 2025 comes amid increased conversation around border security in President Donald Trump’s second term, and in response to high-profile drug busts on the southern border. It would create technician jobs in border security for five years, but with no clear plan for the future.
The bill is sponsored by U.S. Sens. Mark Kelly, D-Arizona; James Lankford, R-Oklahoma, and John Cornyn, R-Texas.
“Customs and Border Protection needs more trained personnel to stop illegal drugs, weapons and human smuggling from entering our country,” Kelly said in a statement this week. “By adding image technicians to identify threats at ports of entry, we’re giving law enforcement another essential tool to secure the border while keeping trade flowing.”
It is unclear exactly what impact the technology would have on smuggling of drugs or other illicit goods. The bill also left out the program’s cost. Kelly’s press office did not respond to a request for comment from The Center Square on either of these issues.
Nearly 1,000 pounds of fentanyl – the drug that has become the center point of the substance abuse issue in the U.S. in recent years – was seized along the southwestern border in January 2025. It was the month’s lowest tally since 2022.
“Adding more personnel at ports of entry will immediately provide our country with another layer of security to prevent traffickers from smuggling weapons or drugs across the border,” said Lankford. “Border law enforcement has repeatedly asked for more support to analyze cargo images in real time, so this bill also gives them tools they need to catch criminals and secure our border.”
The program would run for five years, starting from when the bill is passed. No details have yet come out about next steps for the program or the image technicians it would employ.
