About one-fourth of Oklahoma’s state employees have maintained their employment flexibility after Gov. Kevin Stitt issued a return-to-office executive order in December.
Almost 8,000 state employees out of the 26,000 covered in a report for the first quarter came under one of several exceptions to the return-to-office mandate. Most of those employees were at agencies that didn’t have the office space to accommodate a full return to the office.
Stitt directed the Office of Management and Enterprise Services to compile agency responses to the executive order, although more than 50 agencies failed to respond. Almost 26,000 state employees out of 31,600 were covered in the first quarter report.
The governor’s office was listed among the agencies not responding to the OMES report, but spokeswoman Abegail Cave said all the governor’s staff work in the office.
“The governor wants all state employees back in the office to serve Oklahomans well,” Cave said.
Stitt’s executive order had three exceptions to the policy: employees whose hours are outside normal business hours; employees who already work in the field; and when new or additional office space would have to be acquired at additional cost.
The Oklahoma Public Employees Association said Stitt’s executive order created widespread confusion among state employees when it was issued. Many were surprised because Stitt had touted the benefits of a flexible work environment during the pandemic and the state spent millions in federal COVID-19 relief funds to update remote-work technology.
“A one-size-fits-all approach simply doesn’t work for the wide range of services provided by our diverse state agencies,” OPEA said in a written statement. “When state employee positions are eliminated, we risk losing essential services — including frontline workers who support our most vulnerable citizens.”
The state had not previously compiled a comprehensive list of agency employees by their work location and arrangement, making it difficult to compare what happened at most agencies in response to Stitt’s policy.
Still, some agencies provided telework information in budget planning documents. OMES had 30% of its employees working remotely in fiscal year 2024, while another 60% were in a hybrid work arrangement. The first quarter 2025 report showed 37% of OMES’ 960 employees were granted an exception from the return-to-office executive order.
The state’s largest agency, the Department of Human Services, reported 82% of its 6,048 employees were on some type of hybrid or telework arrangement. During the first years of the COVID-19 pandemic, DHS closed dozens of county offices or found other agency office space for its employees to use.
“Many of our staff work directly in the field, serving Oklahomans rather than operating from a traditional office setting each day,” DHS spokeswoman Carrie Snodgrass said. “We continue to evaluate office space to ensure a comfortable and efficient work environment for our employees, as well as the necessary accommodations to best serve our clients. As we implement the executive order, we are making real-time adjustments to meet operational needs while supporting our workforce.”
In its response to OMES, the Department of Environmental Quality asked to continue a hybrid work policy revised by the agency in 2022. DEQ said a full return to work was complicated by the demolition of an aging parking garage next to its downtown Oklahoma City headquarters. The agency leased temporary parking during demolition and construction of a new parking garage, but it wasn’t feasible to expand those parking options with a full return-to-office policy. The new parking garage is expected to be finished by April 2026.
“By allowing these staff members to work a partial telework schedule, it is estimated that the agency will save approximately $250,000 during the demolition and construction activities,” Robert Singletary, DEQ Executive Director, wrote in a Jan. 3 letter to OMES. “Given the agency’s current budget constraints and the temporary nature of this challenge, procuring additional parking spaces does not appear to be a prudent alternative.”
About 30% of DEQ’s 527 full-time employees are on a hybrid or remote work arrangement, according to the first quarter report.
When he took office in January 2023, Superintendent of Public Instruction Ryan Walters issued a return-to-office policy for the State Department of Education. The agency’s first quarter report to OMES showed 51 of the agency’s 414 employees, or 12%, were granted exceptions to Stitt’s executive order.
In a statement, Walters said the agency has regional representatives across the state to maintain connections to local communities.
“The Oklahoma Department of Education was the first agency in the state to end work-from-home arrangements,” Walters said in the written statement. “Our priority is to be fully present for the students and communities we serve. Having our team on-site strengthens collaboration and accountability.”
The Oklahoma Tax Commission said agency directors and public-facing employees work in the office. But the agency doesn’t have enough space to accommodate a full return-to-office policy for its 600 employees since its move to the Strata Tower in downtown Oklahoma City. That move consolidated three Oklahoma City office locations and reduced its office footprint by 100,000 square feet.
“New or additional space, including parking, would have to be acquired at an additional cost to the OTC to have sufficient physical space to perform their duties 100% of the time in office,” Executive Director Doug Linehan wrote in a January letter to OMES.
Like their counterparts in the private sector, hybrid or remote work has been popular among state employees. An OMES survey published last year, before the executive order, found widespread satisfaction with telework or hybrid work. It had responses from 16,000 employees across 111 agencies.
Rep. Cyndi Munson, the House Democratic leader, said allowing widespread telework flexibility was a benefit for many state employees, especially among working parents. She worried the executive order could deter prospective employees from considering state employment.
“The biggest concern when the order came out was that folks would lose their jobs,” Munson said. “We don’t want that, because we need people working in state government.”
A lawsuit challenging Stitt’s executive order, brought by Rep. Andy Fugate, D-Del City, was dismissed by an Oklahoma County district judge in March. Fugate appealed that order to the Oklahoma Supreme Court.
Oklahoma Watch, at oklahomawatch.org, is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that covers public-policy issues facing the state.
