Kentucky transportation budget ends routine remote work for employees

Employees in Kentucky’s Transportation Cabinet are no longer allowed to work remotely under the latest round of funding for the agency.

Lawmakers had considered eliminating telework across all branches of state government last year, but that proposal did not become law.

This year, however, the restriction remained in the Transportation Cabinet budget, known as House Bill 501. Gov. Andy Beshear attempted to remove the provision using a line-item veto, but the GOP-led General Assembly restored it.

The measure allows for limited exemptions, but only with approval from the Transportation Cabinet secretary. Those exemptions must also be reported quarterly to the Legislative Research Commission.

According to the Lexington Herald-Leader, the change impacts about 4,000 employees and reflects a broader shift toward returning government workers to in-person roles after the pandemic, when many transitioned to remote work.

In 2024, a federal cost-cutting initiative led by tech entrepreneur Elon Musk, known as DOGE, also pushed for a return to in-person work, calling remote work a “COVID-era privilege.”

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