LINCOLN – The Nebraska State Employees Union has appealed a July labor court decision that sided with Gov. Jim Pillen and ended most telework assignments.

The Nebraska Association of Public Employees, which represents more than 8,000 state employees, announced Monday that it will appeal the Decision of 11 July by the Nebraska Commission of Industrial Relations. At the time, the commission said the state had unilateral authority to determine work locations and processes.

The Nebraska Supreme Court will decide whether to allow the appeal.

“We have decided to appeal not to debate the merits of telework, but to protect our members’ right to negotiate and to get clarity from the Nebraska Supreme Court on when the state must negotiate working conditions,” Justin Hubly, the union’s executive director, said in a statement.

A Commission opinion confirmed Pillen’s implementing regulation, which was to enter into force on 2 January 2024, but was blocked in court. Pillen in his November 2023 The order said the COVID-19 pandemic was over.

He called the July ruling a “vindication” of the state’s right to mandate that workers come into the office to work “where they can be most productive.” He also said that any public employees still working from home should be prepared to return to work in person a few days later, on July 15.

Pillen’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the appeal.

Another key point in the July decision was the union’s obligation to pay legal fees on behalf of the state, arguing that it was a “dishonest maneuver.”

“The totality of the file before the Commission demonstrates that the plaintiff (the employee union) has demonstrated a pattern of intentional, blatant, serious, persistent and far-reaching prohibited misconduct in pursuing this action in bad faith,” the Commission wrote.

Hubly said this could lead to a lack of future employment complaints being brought. He said Monday that public employees should not have to weigh whether to file a complaint or pay “exorbitant legal fees” if the commission disagrees.

“We will not allow anything to stop us from exercising our rights,” Hubly said.

In September the Union begins negotiate his next employment contract for the next two fiscal years. A press release said the union will prioritize seeking new language that allows for remote work where it is efficient and effective and hopes Pillen will meet with the union to end the litigation.

“We are confident that we can work with the governor on a solution that will set the state of Nebraska up for success for years to come,” Hubly said. “When we work together, we are all better off.”