May 8, 2026: Return to Commute – VLRB DENIES THE STATE’S MOTION TO STAY!

VSEA was notified today that the Vermont Labor Relations Board (VLRB) has DENIED the State’s motion to stay the VLRB”s order rescinding the Governor’s hybrid work standard!

VSEA fully anticipates the Administration seeking an appeal through the Vermont Supreme Court.

The following is a brief excerpt from the VLRB’s decision today:

    ‘The public interest will best be served by denying the stay request regarding recission of the Hybrid Work Standard, restoring the status quo ante, reinstatement, and the other non-compensatory requirements of the Order. Maintaining the Order and rescinding the Hybrid Work Standard returns state employees to the status quo ante of remote work which Commissioner Fastiggi described as more productive. Having found the State engaged in an unfair labor practice in failing to negotiate with the Union, SELRA authorizes the Board to require the State “to cease and desist from the unfair labor practice, and to take such affirmative action as will carry out the policies” of SELRA. See 3 V.S.A. § 965(d). The public interest will best be served by “recreat[ing] the conditions and relationships that would have existed but for the employer’s wrongful act” and denying the stay. See Vermont State Employees’ Association v. State of Vermont, AHS, 30 VLRB 296, 333 (2009). Denying the stay preserves and protects the right to good faith bargaining and protects the rights of the public in connection with labor disputes. See generally 3 V.S.A. § 901.
    For the reasons stated above, it is ordered:
    1. The Employer’s request for a stay pending appeal of the April 1, 2026, Order regarding Paragraph 4, of the Order, the compensation provision, is granted. 
    2. The Employer’s request for a stay pending appeal of all other provisions of the April 1, 2026, Order, is denied. 

Dated this 8th day of May 2026, at Montpelier, Vermont. 

VERMONT LABOR RELATIONS BOARD’

As always, we will continue to monitor and update you with information as is it becomes available.

In solidarity,

Al Gordon O’Connell, VSEA General Counsel
Catherine Terrell, VSEA Counsel

VLRB: Memorandum and Order, Docket No. 25-50