Minnesota government workers will return to the office on June 1. Here’s what we know.

Starting this summer, tens of thousands of state employees who have been working largely remotely since the start of the pandemic will have to start coming back into the office part time.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, who announced the new policy this week, said the change has been in the works for some time, but unions representing state workers said they were left out of the decision-making process and plan to push back on the administration.

In the meantime, more than two dozen agencies are making plans to bring workers back into the office, and St. Paul is preparing to welcome throngs of people back to its struggling downtown this summer.

Here’s what we know about the change and how it will be implemented:

Much of the state workforce will have to start reporting to the office for at least 50% of scheduled work days starting June 1. There are exemptions in the new mandate for employees who have health considerations or who live more than 75 miles away from their main office, according to Walz.

Announcing the move, the administration said having workers back in the office will bring vitality back into downtown St. Paul while allowing for more collaboration and organizational culture with the agencies. Walz said at a news conference Wednesday that they were concerned about how many workers quit within the first six months of starting a job with the state.

“I’m pretty convinced it’s because they don’t get into the culture, they don’t get the mentorship you normally get in a work environment,” he said.

The two major state worker unions — the Minnesota Association of Professional Employees (MAPE) and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Council 5 — said they weren’t consulted by the administration and called the unilateral changes disrespectful.

“The administration’s decision to impose sweeping workplace policy changes without engaging our union and labor partners first is not just unacceptable — it’s an act of blatant disrespect,” AFSCME Council 5 Executive Director Bart Andersen said in a statement. “Our union members must have and deserve a seat at the table every step of the way.”

Megan Dayton, president of MAPE, said Walz was acting like a “bad boss” toward “staff he claims to care deeply about investing in.”

“I never thought the same public worker attacks and micromanaging mannerisms of our federal administration would be mirrored in Minnesota,” she said. Union leaders have said the decision could also be an attempt to push some workers out.

The governor denied that the move has anything to do with attrition and said it’s on him to make major decisions about the state’s workforce. He said he plans to work with the unions on the changes. “I’ll continue to make sure that the state of Minnesota is an employer of choice and a great place where people want to work. And I want to keep them and do everything possible.”

Walz said each agency will be responsible for determining how to manage the day-to-day realities of return to work for state employees.

Republicans in the Legislature, who have requested data on vacancies in state office buildings, said the governor could have called workers back earlier. But GOP House Speaker Lisa Demuth said she’s “very pleased” with the policy change.

“A lot of our big corporations and businesses have been requiring that of people and I think it’s good for the city and the state to lead by example,” she said.

Walz said roughly 25,000 workers are already working in-person, or roughly 60% of the state workforce. The rest of the state’s roughly 40,000-person workforce is currently operating under a hybrid model.

Some state agencies have consolidated their office footprint in response to fewer people working in the office. The state Department of Education moved its main office from Roseville to a smaller building in northeast Minneapolis, and the Department of Revenue has closed seven regional offices in greater Minnesota over the past two years.

While the State Office Building adjacent to the Capitol is under construction, legislators, the Secretary of State’s office and other staffers have moved into nearby state office buildings until the project is complete.

Wayne Waslaski, assistant commissioner of the Department of Administration, said state agencies will need to review their space needs based on the updated policy.

“A shared space model will continue to be utilized for hybrid work. In addition, updated space standards will continue to apply,” he said.

He said the number of parking stalls available for employees remains relatively unchanged.

The unions say contract negotiations with the administration are starting in mid April and they plan to fight the changes. They have left the door open to filing a lawsuit challenging the move as well.

Ryan Faircloth of the Minnesota Star Tribune contributed to this story.

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