Since the start of the pandemic in March 2020, many state employees have been working far from their homes, now a ruling has been issued that allows them to remain in their homes and not have to report to the office.
The new ruling by a state arbitrator, which will affect thousands of state employees, will now allow them to appeal the obligation to work in their current office for more than one day a week.
The new ruling comes at a time when the union and Governor Ned Lamont have been at odds with mandates at home and in the office. The governor, who at one point during the pandemic had full authority to use his emergency powers, has since lost some of that authority and is currently operating on reduced emergency power, which incidentally expires on February 15.
It’s been an ongoing back-and-forth battle, but now that pandemic cases have risen dramatically in the state, the latest figures show an increase in the positivity rate of nearly 24 percent, which is the highest since the start of the pandemic with almost one. in four tests they were positive.
According to courant.com, the governor and the unions had reached an agreement on an earlier temporary arrangement in August, when the initial stay-at-home restrictions were lifted, but it was necessary to have a permanent policy at work and at home to the beginning. of 2022.
In a 37-page arbitration report it essentially says that “any denial or modification to the prior agreement that could result in an employee having to work on-site in the office more than one day a week would be open for appeal.”
The latest arbitration ruling says state employees can submit a request for a work-at-home schedule that is consistent with their job duties and operational needs.
There are many state employees such as state police officers, correctional officers, child protection social workers, and transportation department drivers who would not be eligible for an appeal to this new rule because their jobs cannot be performed by working from home.
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