Gov. Tina Kotek is ending the pandemic-era practice of reimbursing travel costs for state employees who work remotely.
Employees are still allowed to work remotely, but starting Sept. 1 they will not be reimbursed for travel costs when they need to visit the office for work.
“We must ensure that state resources are used effectively to serve Oregonians and that our policies reflect the evolving needs of our workforce and the public,” Berrie Leslie, the state’s chief operating officer and interim director of the Department of Administrative Services Berrie Leslie, said in a statement.
In March, state Senators unanimously approved Senate Bill 853, which had a similar mission as Kotek’s edict. The bill is now in the House, but it appears it’s no longer needed.
Sen. Tim Knopp, R-Bend, who introduced the bill, carved out exemptions, however, for travel out-of-state workers who live within 60 miles of the Oregon border. It’s unclear whether Kotek’s order includes any exceptions. The governor’s office did not respond immediately when asked.
Knopp said Kotek’s decision was the right thing to do.
“I appreciate the governor joining us in our effort to end this unfair and wasteful policy,” Knopp said.
Oregon state Sen. Tim Knopp, R-Bend, speaks on the floor of the Senate on Monday, Jan. 14, 2019, at the Oregon Capitol in Salem, Ore.
Bradley W. Parks / OPB
Willamette Week first reported on the reimbursement policy last summer, noting that some highly-paid state employees had moved to Florida and Texas and been reimbursed thousands of dollars when asked to travel back to Oregon for their jobs.
In addition to introducing the bill, which had bipartisan support, Knopp sent Kotek a letter urging her to instead just end the practice.
“I believe the current policy is neither fair nor equitable to hybrid and in-person state employees who don’t get compensated for their commutes,” Knopp wrote.
More than 400 of the state’s 41,543 employees live outside of Oregon. According to reporting by The Oregonian/OregonLive, 255 live in bordering states. The state’s payroll includes workers residing in 41 states and the District of Columbia, The Oregonian has reported.
Melissa Unger, the executive director of the Service Employees International Union Local 503, pushed back on legislators as they were considering the change, saying it could unduly impact labor contracts.
In a text message to OPB, Unger wrote, her concern is for the people who made a decision based on something they were told was their workplace policy.
“We hope that this new policy does not change the expectations workers had when they were approved for remote work by their managers,” Unger said.
This story may be updated.