Some state employees working from home during the COVID pandemic are still there - But that’s about to end.
Gov. Mike DeWine has issued an executive order telling them to return to their offices by March 17.
Many state employees were never able to work from home, DeWine said.
“Those who work in the state hospitals. Those who work in the state prisons. Those who are members of the highway patrol and are out on the road,” DeWine said. “You know you can just think of so many state employees who simply could not do their jobs except when they are out, either in their office or where their normal place of employment is.”
There are some limited exceptions. DeWine says some state office space that was leased no longer exists, so those situations will be handled case-by-case. He said department and agency leaders should get as many workers back to the office as possible with this caveat:
“Unless there is some urgent reason why they need to continue to work remotely or something unique about the job or that individual,” DeWine said.
Many state employees work in Columbus. Derrick Clay, president of the Columbus Chamber of Commerce, applauds DeWine's decision.
“It’s a positive step in the right direction for the economic vitality of our region,” Clay said.
Having those workers in the office generates a lot of economic activity, he said.
“When you have workers that are in their offices downtown, it creates foot traffic for not just downtown but anywhere that there is a state office building throughout the state. When you have foot traffic, it supports local restaurants. It supports local coffee shops. And it supports things that we don’t even think about."
DeWine said more private sector businesses are also bringing employees back to the office now. So he said he thinks it's time for most state employees to be back at their regular workspace.
