Miami-Dade’s Zoom era may be ending. Mayor orders county workers back to their desks

Miami-Dade County’s government employees will see an end to remote work this spring, according to a memo released Friday by Mayor Daniella Levine Cava.

Levine Cava set an April 15 deadline for ending the five years of remote work that started when most office buildings shut down at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. The return-to-work directive from Levine Cava, a Democrat, follows a similar order in January from the county’s newly elected Republican sheriff, Rosie Cordero-Stutz, who took over the county police department from the mayor at the start of 2025. President Donald Trump also ordered federal workers back to the office after he returned to the White House last month.

The county government employs about 31,000 people, making it the second largest workforce in Miami-Dade behind the school system.

More than 10% of the county’s workforce is working remotely at least part of the time, according to the mayor’s office. A spokesperson said Friday that 3,931 employees are on either remote or hybrid schedules.

In her memo, Levine Cava described ending remote work as a boon for productivity as Miami-Dade prepares for a challenging budget season. With a real estate market cooling and Miami-Dade no longer able to plug spending holes with federal COVID dollars, Levine Cava and others are warning of revenue challenges for the 2026 budget.

“While the hybrid and remote work arrangements served us well over the past five years, enhancing collaboration and teamwork through in-person interactions is essential to improving efficiencies and empowering employees to perform at their best,” Levine Cava wrote.

This story was originally published February 21, 2025 at 2:04 PM.