Minnesota revises return-to-work policy exemption for state employees

Some MN state employees exempt from office return

Minnesota Governor Tim Walz ordered most state employees to return to the office, but a policy revision could allow many to be exempt. FOX 9's Soyoung Kim has the full story.

ST. PAUL, Minn. (FOX 9) - In just a few weeks, most Minnesota state employees will be expected to return to the office for at least half of the time.

But there has been a revision to that policy, and more employees could be given flexibility.

Ending pandemic-era policy

Timeline:

In March, Governor Tim Walz announced that most Minnesota state employees will be expected to be back in the office for at least 50% of their working hours starting on June 1st.

He pointed to increased collaboration and building organizational culture as some reasons for this change.

The policy initially provided an exception for employees who live more than 75 miles away from their primary work location. This week, the policy was revised, and that distance has been reduced. The exception will apply to employees who live more than 50 miles away from work.

The other side:

Reversal of the pandemic-era remote-work policy has been met with opposition from labor unions. The Minnesota Association of Professional Employees (MAPE) and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Council 5 said together they represent the nearly 40,000 state workers. 

Megan Dayton, MAPE president sent this statement, "This adjustment does not solve the underlying issues with the policy. It simply reinforces how arbitrary and out-of-touch the original order was. Geography continues to drive decisions where business needs and operational logic should."

Additional exceptions:

According to the state’s telework policy, there are some additional exceptions listed for employees working out of state – including certain prior agreements, a need for highly specialized skills, or positions difficult to fill. 

The policy notes these special cases would need individual approval on a case-by-case basis.

Dig deeper:

Check out the telework policy here. 

Read the FAQ memo here.