New telework policy for Baltimore City employees to take effect January 2

BALTIMORE -- A new telework policy for Baltimore City employees is set to go into effect January 2, 2024, the mayor's office said in a statement Friday.

The new policy is part of the city's Future of Work initiative, which was piloted in April. 

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the city adopted a telework model to accommodate the public health crisis.  Now, executive departments have been directed to increase in-person presence at city government offices.

"The pandemic showed us that we can still be productive in remote work environments, but it is critical that residents are able to effectively interact with city agencies and that our agencies are able to efficiently deliver city services," Mayor Scott said in a statement.  "That is why we are reimagining our telework policy to reflect best practices and lessons learned from our future of work pilot."

Beginning January 2, 2024, city government agencies and departments will be able to schedule employees for telework no more than two days per week.

The mayor's office said the initiative is set to impact roughly 2,000 employees who currently work remotely more than three days per week.  

The full outline for the new telework policy can be found here.