By Emma Murphy, Oklahoma Voice
OKLAHOMA CITY – An Oklahoma County judge dismissed a lawsuit against Gov. Kevin Stitt over his executive order returning all full-time state employees to return to in-office work environments.
Judge Brent Dishman on Monday dismissed the lawsuit filed by Rep. Andy Fugate, D-Oklahoma City. An attorney representing Fugate said he plans to appeal the decision on Tuesday.
Dishman said he only knew of one case where an individual legislator brought a case against a governor. He said it would be too “chaotic” if every lawmaker could bring a case against the governor everytime they disagreed with an action taken, according to a transcript of the dismissal.
Fugate had alleged violations of the separation of powers in the lawsuit. He said ending remote work for all state employees was not within the power of the governor, but was instead the responsibility of the Legislature and individual state agencies. He filed his lawsuit and announced it Feb. 21 at the Capitol.
In March 2020 at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, Stitt authorized remote work that “balances the safety and welfare of state employees with the critical services they provide.” His December executive order ended this authorization and ordered employees to work in person.
A few state agencies closed some of their physical office locations to save money as employees were working remotely, meaning there may not be enough physical office space for all of the employees returning to offices. In January, the Oklahoma State Department of Health estimated it would cost $400,000 to expand its office space and parking in downtown Oklahoma City in order to return employees to in-person work.
Fugate said he plans to continue to press this case in the courts and his attorney, Richard Labarthe, said he’ll appeal the decision to the Oklahoma Supreme Court.
“The Legislature is a body of co-equals. Each of us in the House represents 40,000 constituents,” Fugate said in a statement. “While the Speaker is ‘first among equals,’ that should not diminish the rights and legislative authority of individual members, especially when it comes to actions to preserve those rights. This was just the first step in the process.”
Stitt celebrated the dismissal and said he was glad it was done quickly to save taxpayer dollars from the cost of further litigation.
“My order was just common sense – taxpayers are better served when the state employees who work for them are in the office, ready to work,” Stitt said in a statement. “This lawsuit was a political stunt to grab headlines and try to get the court to legislate from the bench.”
House leadership had differing opinions of Fugate’s lawsuit Thursday.
House Speaker Kyle Hilbert (R-Bristow) said he wasn’t sure if Fugate had the standing to sue as a member of the Legislature and believes the order was within Stitt’s authority.
Minority Leader Cyndi Munson (D-Oklahoma City) said while she and her caucus were not involved in the lawsuit, she supported Fugate and wanted to hear from the courts on whether or not the return to work order was within the governor’s power.
