Walz announces remote work changes for Minnesota state agency employees
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State agency employees in Minnesota will have to work in-person for at least 50 percent of scheduled workdays starting June 1, DFL Gov. Tim Walz announced Tuesday.
Remote work spread widely during the COVID-19 pandemic to control the spread of the coronavirus. Some state employees have maintained that setup or work in a hybrid format.
But the governor’s office said about 60 percent of state employees already work in-person.
“This approach balances the flexibility of telework with the workplace advantages of being in office,” Walz said in a statement. “Having more state employees in the office means that collaboration can happen more quickly and state agencies can build strong organizational cultures more easily.”
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An announcement from the governor’s office notes the policy change provides an exemption for employees who live more than 75 miles away from their primary work location.
In a statement Tuesday night, unions representing tens of thousands of state workers denounced the move toward more in-person work. Officials with the Minnesota Association of Professional Employees (MAPE) and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Council 5 criticized Walz, saying he acted unilaterally and without consulting unions or affected employees.
“For administrators to unleash this kind of chaos on hard-working employees when we’re about to start negotiating our next contract feels, at best, hypocritical; at mid, a strategic effort to erode the progress we’ve made to enhance our working conditions and productivity; and at worst, a short-sighted attempt at engineered attrition,” MAPE President Megan Dayton said.
The updated policy was posted to the Department of Minnesota Management and Budget’s website. There was also a frequently asked questions memo, which describes how the time in office will be measured.
Among the guidance is that only full days in the office count toward the in-person expectation. Employees who have childcare or pet accommodations to factor into their day will have to find a way to fit their office hours in, the memo says.
“With supervisor approval and consistent with the terms and conditions of employment in the applicable collective bargaining agreement or compensation plan, employees may adjust shift start or end times earlier or later, but the expectation is that a full shift is worked at their permanent/principal work location for 50% of workdays within a month,” the guidance states.
The decision comes as St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter has expressed concerns over lower traffic in the capital city’s restaurants and other businesses. The statement from Walz announcing the shift to more in-person work acknowledged that, saying the policy change “supports the economic vitality of office districts like downtown St. Paul, bringing foot traffic back to businesses and public spaces.”