Philadelphia city employees have returned to their offices following a judge’s dismissal of a union’s attempt to halt Mayor Cherelle Parker’s mandate for full-time office attendance.

District Council 47 of the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees filed a lawsuit claiming this mandate violates its contract and would negatively affect city workers.

Representing 6,000 administrative and supervisory employees, the union has also filed an unfair practices complaint with the Pennsylvania Labor Relations Board, which is awaiting resolution.

Following a two-day hearing last week, the judge’s ruling allowed the city to enforce such a mandate, leading to the workers’ return to the office on Monday. 

In May, Parker announced her intention to enhance government visibility and accessibility by ending the city’s remote work policy implemented in 2021, returning employees to pre-pandemic schedules.

The union criticized this decision for being unilaterally imposed rather than negotiated through collective bargaining and argued the city lacks sufficient office space to accommodate all employees.

In a statement, Local 2187 President David Wilson expressed concerns that the policy will exacerbate the city’s worker shortage post-pandemic and create scheduling challenges for parents during summer break.

Parker said approximately 80% of the city’s 26,000 employees have been working fully on-site since last year.

She also mentioned that the remaining employees have worked on-site for 31-75 hours per pay period, stating that former Mayor Jim Kenney had assigned hybrid work decisions to department heads.

Business leaders welcomed the announcement, saying it would benefit workers and enhance the vitality of Philadelphia’s downtown.

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Parker said her administration does not view this new policy as subject to collective bargaining.

However, she also highlighted worker-friendly changes such as extending paid parental leave and establishing the Friday after Thanksgiving as a holiday, alongside flexible sick leave policies for family caregiving.