Starting Dec. 1, state employees will need to return to the office at least three days per week, part of a new hybrid work schedule proposed by Gov. Phil Scott. But where do they currently reside?
As part of the return-to-office process, Scott created an advisory group of state leaders to hash out the logistics of the policy change. Among the lingering questions: how to handle government employees who live out of state, a population that’s grown since the Covid-19 pandemic normalized remote work for many.
Administration officials said they have not yet figured out how to handle the hybrid schedule for out-of-state workers. Beth Fastiggi, Department of Human Resources commissioner, declined an interview request, citing the ongoing work of the advisory group.
The Vermont State Employees’ Association, the union representing state workers, opposes the hybrid back-to-office plan. What matters is that work gets done, not where it gets done, according to Steve Howard, the union’s executive director.
“We’ve been benefiting from their talent and experience, and there’s no reason to uproot them,” he said of out-of-state employees.
According to Howard, many state workers who live far from Vermont either previously worked locally and would have left state service if not for remote work, or they fill positions that are hard to recruit.
To be sure, many out-of-state employees regularly report to a Vermont job site. Of the 552 state employees who lived out of state as of September 2025, 433 lived across Vermont’s borders in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York or Quebec. But another 119 lived further afield in states like Florida or North Carolina. As of this month, state employees reside in 31 different states and one Canadian province.
Many out-of-state workers are also seasonally employed.
The number of out-of-state workers has risen significantly over the past few years. In 2019, just before the Covid pandemic began, Vermont hired 559 out-of-state employees throughout the year. Five years later, the state reported hiring 753 out-of-state workers through the course of 2024.
The top department for out-of-state employees was the Department of Corrections, followed by the Department of Children and Families and the Department of Health.
