NYC allowing non-unionized workers to work remotely twice a week

While a number of employers have been forcing their workers to return to the office, New York City is allowing more workers in the city to work remotely for part of the work week.

NYC Mayor Eric Adams recently announced that workers not represented by a union will be allowed to work outside of the workplace up to two days each week.

This comes after a successful pilot with the similar concept that applied to unionized workers in District Council (DC) 37. 

“New Yorkers deserve the best services government can offer, and our secret weapon is the most talented, hardest-working workforce in the world,” said Adams. “Public servants deliver for New Yorkers through the city’s most urgent crises, and now it’s time for us to support them as they have supported us. With the success of our initial remote work pilots for tens of thousands of union-represented employees, we are proud to expand this benefit to the thousands of non-represented public servants who work tirelessly for our city day in and day out.”

Recently, Amazon gave managers the authority to terminate workers who refuse to report to the office three times each week. 

Meanwhile, Roblox workers must start working from the company’s headquarters in San Mateo by next summer and transition away from remote work or “transition out of their roles as full-time employees”.

The latest announcement from the city government will provide benefits to approximately 16,500 non-unionized workers in NYC, it said.

Successful pilot for unionized workers

NYC’s announcement came after, in June, Adams and DC 37 Executive Director Henry Garrido announced the launch of the flexible work pilot program for city employees. 

The flexible work pilot agreement, signed May 31, allows eligible employees to work remotely for up to two days per week – “providing greater flexibility for city workers while ensuring the administration continues to ‘Get Stuff Done’ for New Yorkers”.

The program will run until May 31, 2025, and will be renewed for a year thereafter if both parties agree.

NYC’s expansion of the pilot to include non-unionized workers will be a two-year program. It will adhere to the same terms of the administration’s remote work agreements with various unions as part of recent contract settlements. 

Determinations on days and eligibility will be made at an agency level and reviewed by the Flexible Work Committee, which includes representatives from city oversight agencies.

“Our city’s workforce is in a season of evolution and revolution, and it is guided by the work we are doing now to position the City of New York as an employer of choice,” said Dawn M. Pinnock, New York City Department of Citywide Administrative Services commissioner.

“By expanding telework policies to include non-unionized city employees, we are putting a focus on retention. Since March, we’ve been working tirelessly to increase equity and access to employment for all New Yorkers and adopting a holistic, human approach to city government. Our efforts have yielded a citywide reduction in vacancies and have improved many of the pathways into public service.”

Office vacancies soared to a 20-year high in the U.S. and London in the third quarter of this year, according to a report from CoStar, which provides research on commercial real estate.