City workers to return to in-person work full-time this July [Video]

PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Mayor Cherelle Parker has ordered all city workers to return to their offices full-time this summer.

The order, which goes into effect July 15, impacts nearly 5,000 employees who still work from home part of the time.

“Philadelphia, I want you to know that as your mayor, I made this decision with you in mind,” she said.

Parker says in-person work facilitates communication and promotes social connections, collaboration, innovation and inclusion.

And, to make the transition easier, she intends to extend new benefits, including emergency child and elder care, allowing sick leave for a family need, increasing parental leave, and adding the Friday after Thanksgiving as a holiday.

More than a dozen business, union, and civic leaders praised the decision as a boon for public safety, employment and the general vibrancy of the city. But Parker acknowledged that the unions representing white and blue-collar city workers, currently in contract negotiations, may …