After failed court fight, all city workers return to in-office work

A day that has been long discussed has finally arrived as the last 20% of city workers, who were working from home or had a hybrid schedule over the past three years, have to return to in-office work on Monday.

The day comes after Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker, in May, mandated that all municipal employees return to in-office work in an effort to create a more visible and accessible government.

"I can't make good on my promise to you without the hard work of the men and women that keep Philadelphia moving," Parker told taxpayers, last week, in defending the mandate.

The decision ended the city’s virtual work policy, put in place in 2021, and essentially returns employee scheduling to what it was before the coronavirus pandemic.

Parker has said this ruling "establishes generally" that all work will be done on-site and it will sunset the city's virtual work policy.

About 80% of the city’s 26,000 employees have been working fully on site since last year, while the rest have worked on site 31 to 75 hours per pay period, Parker said.

Earlier this year, Parker called senior city employees back to work. That started on March 4.

Former Mayor Jim Kenney had left hybrid work decisions up to department heads.

Then, on Friday last week AFSCME – a union that represents about 3500 city workers -- lost a court fight over Parker's mandate. Union officials had said the mandate could harm workers, cause the city to lose employees and was unilaterally imposed instead of going through collective bargaining.

“We know that this is going to have a devastating impact. Some people may leave right away, some people may wait until they get employment," April Gigetts president of District Council 47 of AFSCME.

However, Parker celebrated the judge's ruling, releasing a statement that, in part, said, “I promised to make our city the safest, cleanest, greenest big city in America, with access to economic opportunity for all. This ruling gets our city one giant step closer to delivering on that promise."

Businesses in Center City are also celebrating the return to office with a number of restaurants offering specials for Monday through the rest of the week -- and some that go through the month of July.

As shared by the Mayor's office, Bagels and Co. is offering a bagel giveaway at both its locations for the first 50 employees at each location on Monday morning. The company is also offering 10% off all orders for city workers all week.

Fashion District Philadelphia has also created, what the Mayor's office called, "special welcome bags of swag and prizes" for employees to enjoy starting Monday at 11 a.m.

Other deals include:

• PJ Clarke's - Complimentary appetizer with any burger/entree purchase
• Village Whiskey - Complimentary WILD fries with any burger purchase
• Cavanaugh's Rittenhouse - BOGO wings on Monday, 25% off all week
• 1225 Raw - 10% off bill July 16 to July 19
• Lamberti Pizza and Market - 25% off on Monday, plus 10% year-round!
• Dim Sum House - 10% off through end of July
• The Ground - 15% off all sandwiches, bubble tea, lattes and speciality drinks
• DBG - 10% off food, plus best happy hour in center city ($2.95 burgers!)
• Chika - Complimentary fried ice cream dessert with ramen/bowl purchase
• New Liberte Lounge at Sofitel Philadelphia - Complimentary app with lunch and complimentary dessert with dinner purchase 7/15 to 7/19