As return-to-office policy approaches, Minnesota government workers see refined requirements

Changes have been made to a new state remote work policy that begins in a little more than a month. The revisions detailed in a memo this week would give employees who live further from their job locations more flexibility than an earlier policy.

Beginning June 1, most state employees will be expected to spend more time in the office — at least half of their time would be in person. It’s a change to expansive pandemic-era telework accommodations and the callback has met opposition from key labor unions.

In a recently posted change, the Department of Minnesota Management and Budget relaxed its initial policy slightly. The policy now says people living more than 50 miles from their primary worksite will have more latitude to seek extra telework allowances. Originally it was a 75-mile radius. 

An MMB spokesperson said the change grew out of feedback — and loud criticism — received from state workers in response to the initial plan. There was concern about commuting and about some employees being able to arrange child care on short notice. 

DFL Gov. Tim Walz has said he was willing to work with employees to make the shift less disruptive, but he has argued the return-to-office directive was necessary for collaboration and to match what many private sector employers are doing.

Walz said that the change wasn’t a result of a “direct formal negotiation.” 

“These were things that people were bringing up and talking about so we’re hearing them on this,” Walz told reporters on Wednesday. “We’ve always been on the side of making sure that we value this workforce.”

Megan Dayton, president of the Minnesota Association of Professional Employees, said the union leadership isn’t offering detailed comment given that contract negotiations have begun. She defended the use of telework as meeting “modern workforce realities.”

"We view this as a cosmetic adjustment to an inherently flawed policy that continues to disrupt state operations, require unnecessary costs, and destabilize the workforce without addressing any clear operational need," Dayton said in an e-mail to MPR News.

There have also been space considerations raised given that some leases have lapsed or buildings closed since the COVID-19 pandemic upended regular work patterns. Employees who live in border states and beyond the 50-mile radius can ask for agency approval to do more remote work.

MMB is allowing agencies that have space limitations to petition for a few more months to get into compliance. Agencies would have until Sept. 2 — the Tuesday after Labor Day — to figure out how to find space for workers within affected divisions.

“MMB will not provide blanket extensions to agencies,” MMB’s Patrick Hogan wrote in an email to MPR News. “The goal remains to have employees back in the office at least 50 percent of the time on June 1, but we recognize there may be pockets of some agencies that need a little longer to address space limitations.”

DFL Rep. Luke Frederick of Mankato stood in a rally in March with union leaders who argued the policy change was misguided and a unilateral imposition of new rules outside collective bargaining. He said the new design still doesn’t address all the concerns. 

"It is an improvement from where we were at,” Frederick said. “There were people that were hired with an explicit intention of being able to work from home. Their job offer said they would be able to work from their homes and this doesn't address that.”

Officials with the American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees Council 5, which along with MAPE represents the majority of state workers, didn’t return messages.

Walz said he’s due to meet with union leaders on Thursday.