Youngkin’s return-to-office plan prompts departure of over 300 Virginia state employees

Over 300 Virginia state employees have left their positions following the announcement of Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s return to office plan in early May.

Data on the now-former employees come from five state agencies according to records requests filed by WRIC-TV, the ABC affiliate for the Richmond area.

The VIrginia Department of Transportation lost 183 employees, the station reported. The Virginia Department of Health had 78 resignations and the Virginia Electric Commission had 37 between the beginning of May to near the end of June.

Other numbers provided by the state to WRIC were seven resignations from the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development and six resignations from Virginia’s Department of Emergency Management.   

While 29 of the employees who left VDOT cited “telework” as their reason for departing, some provided other reasons, including “better job” or “dissatisfied” or “home responsibilities,” the station reported. 

The state’s Department of Human Resource Management has over 57,000 workers that are considered “classified” and over 36,000 that aren’t eligible for telework, including police, correctional officers and health care workers, per WRIC.

Gov. Youngkin announced his return to office plan on May 5 with a target date of all workers returning by July 5. 

State employees who requested to keep teleworking had to go through a three-tiered approval system. For those seeking one day a week, they had to get approval from their supervisor. Those who wanted two days a week had to get approval from their department’s cabinet secretary. For three or more days, the governor’s chief of staff had to sign off on it.