State employees will return to required in-person work this week, after a superior court judge declined to halt Gov. Phil Scott’s return-to-office order.

The Vermont State Employees' Association, the union representing state workers, had asked the court to issue a preliminary injunction while it pursues an unfair labor practice complaint with the state labor relations board.

Superior Court Judge Dan Richardson, in a ruling on Saturday, wrote that the court didn’t have the authority to intervene. The dispute over the new return-to-office order is being reviewed by the Vermont Labor Relations Board, Richardson said.

“These are issues that the VLRB must address, and their absence from the present action means that any adjudication, even on a temporary basis, invades their purview,” Richard

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