The Harris County Commissioners Court is set to discuss potential changes to its work-from-home—also known as “telework”—policy during its next meeting in February. The sole Republican on the court, Commissioner Tom Ramsey, added the topic as an “emergency/supplemental” item to Thursday’s agenda.
Although the item was originally slated to be discussed tomorrow, the decision was made to change tomorrow’s meeting to business court instead, pushing to February all items requiring discussion.
The county first approved working from home after County Judge Lina Hidalgo issued the “Stay Home, Work Safe Order” on March 24, 2020 in response to COVID-19. What started as a temporary measure evolved into a long-term arrangement and an established policy for county employees.
In 2020, the county created a workgroup made up of members representing each precinct in commissioners court and Harris County Universal Services to design a work-from-home policy. The proposed policy was adopted July 28, 2020.
“The purpose of this policy is to promote telework as a means of achieving solutions to administrative efficiencies, reducing traffic congestion, addressing pandemics/epidemics, improving environmental quality, creating an atmosphere for employees to increase productivity and job satisfaction” reads the policy.
The Telework Policy was added to the Harris County Personnel Policies and Procedures manual in March 2022.
On August 27, 2024, the commissioners court directed the county administrator to review the Telework Policy and provide guideline recommendations to update current policies.
The Office of County Administration wrote to Texas Scorecard that any change to the work-from-home policy would require action from the commissioners court.
When asked how many county employees worked remotely, OCA responded that “Because Harris County is decentralized, you’ll have to reach out to each department for numbers.”
Meanwhile, Houston Mayor Whitmire recently announced that starting February 1, all city employees must return to the office.
Houston city employees were allowed to work from home early in the COVID-19 pandemic. In July 2022, seven city departments were allowed to work from home in a pilot program seeking to make the practice long-term. By May 2023, the city implemented a policy called “Hybrid-Telework Program.”
“We are all public servants, and each employee plays a vital role in ensuring our municipal government operates efficiently and prioritizes the needs of our constituents. The best way to serve the public is to work together in the office, enhancing collaboration and making the City of Houston more effective as we tackle significant challenges,” wrote Whitmire regarding the return to office mandate.
On his first day back in office, President Donald Trump directed all federal employees to return to in-person work as soon as practicable.
Corporate America has been leading the charge for requiring employees to return to the office, with companies like Amazon, JP Morgan, and Citigroup all recently announcing in-office requirements.
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