New Jersey civil-service workers could lose the option to work from home under a bill that says remote work would not be allowed for covered state and local employees. The measure would apply to state workers and to local governments that use the state’s civil-service system.
If it became law, the change would take effect immediately. For the people inside those offices, that means a hard stop to remote work on covered jobs and a return to on-site routines.
The telework lane closes
The bill does more than add a simple prohibition. It rewrites N.J.S.11A:6-24, the section that already governs hours of work, overtime compensation and holiday pay, and then adds a new section making clear that remote work is not allowed for any employees in the civil service of the state or of an adopting local government.
The Civil Service Commission would still handle the broader workplace rules, but not in a way that opens a telework lane for covered employees. The bill leaves the existing framework for hours and overtime in place while taking remote work out of it entirely.
Who gets pulled back
The practical effect would land on desks, counters and commutes. Employees who have built routines around home offices would have to report in person, and agencies that have leaned on telework would have to reorganize supervision and daily coverage around physical presence.
The reach is broader than Trenton. Any town, county or other political subdivision that opted into Title 11A would face the same ban, so the change would ripple through a wide slice of New Jersey government, not just state departments.
Sources
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