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Mono County limits out‑of‑state remote work; employees told to declare intent within 30 days and return within six months
Summary
After hours of testimony from department heads and staff about cybersecurity, payroll and service risks, the Mono County Board amended its out‑of‑state remote work resolution to require employees working full time outside California to declare intent within 30 days and to relocate back to California within six months; the measure passed 4–1.
The Board debated an amendment to the county's out‑of‑state remote work resolution that would end the county's prior practice of permitting full‑time remote work from states outside California. Department heads and IT leaders urged caution, describing deep institutional knowledge in long‑tenured IT staff, cybersecurity exposures and payroll compliance challenges when employees work in multiple states.
Mike Martinez, Information Technology director, told the Board replacing decades of institutional knowledge held by a few employees "is not doable" on a rapid timeline and warned of cascading service and public‑safety impacts if multiple key staff left at once. Janet Dutcher, Finance Director, described payroll and multi‑state withholding complexity that would require additional finance staff or system reprogramming if many employees moved to other states.
Board members debated timeline and fairness. The motion that passed — offered by Supervisor Kreitz and seconded by Supervisor Dugan — amended the draft resolution to require staff currently working full time outside California to notify the county of their intent within 30 days and to return to California and perform their duties in‑state within six months. The Board recorded votes: Supervisors Dugan, Crites, McFarlane and Chair Salcedo voted yes; Supervisor Peters voted no (motion passed 4–1).
The Board directed staff to issue formal notice to affected employees immediately and to return with department‑level transition plans and cost estimates for recruitment, temporary overlap positions and any needed contract services. Staff and department heads said they would prepare a transition plan that could include limited‑term positions or temporary contractors to maintain critical services while recruitment and knowledge transfer occur.
What happens next: County staff will issue the formal notice consistent with the resolution, meet with affected departments to craft transition plans and return to the Board with budget implications and staffing proposals. The Board signaled it expects county operations to be sustained during the transition but prioritized restoring a primarily in‑county workforce for equity, payroll compliance and disaster response reasons.
