Gov. Phil Murphy’s administration set an Oct. 18 deadline for all state workers in New Jersey to return to their offices full-time for the first time since the coronavirus pandemic hit the state.
But when that date arrived Monday, the plans had changed. Only some of the state government workforce was required to come back. The rest would return on a rolling basis through the end of November, Murphy’s office said.
The delay caused some confusion in Trenton and left some lawmakers — from both parties — unhappy.
State Sen. Kristin Corrado, R-Passaic, said she was “disappointed” that Murphy, a Democrat running for re-election Nov. 2, failed to “live up to live up to his promise” to reopen all services on that day.
Corrado said she heard from angry residents who went to One Stop unemployment centers in Hackensack and Paterson on Monday only to get turned away.
“When everything in the private sector is open, the continuing closure of important state offices, including unemployment centers, sends a message that the Murphy administration doesn’t care that lots of people need help,” Corrado said.
State Senate Majority Leader Loretta Weinberg, D-Bergen, said the delayed deadline is “very confusing to constituents who do need services.” Weinberg said she’s also perplexed as to why critical offices still aren’t open or fully staffed nearly 20 months into the pandemic.
“They should put in all the reasonable health regulations to keep the public and workforce safe,” she said. “I don’t understand when you can go into a restaurant and schools are open and all kinds of events are being held that the state of New Jersey is the last holdout.”
RELATED: It’s back to the office today for N.J. state workers as Murphy order takes effect
Murphy’s administration originally planned to have all workers return Sept. 7, after the Labor Day weekend. Employees have so far been required to work at least part-time from their offices.
But the deadline was later moved to Oct. 18 to coincide with a new state requirement taking effect that day for all state employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19 or face regular testing.
The requirement also led to this new delay. The governor’s office sent an email to departments last week saying “we have encountered some challenges with testing infrastructure and will move forward with bringing state employee’s back on a rolling basis,” according to a copy obtained by NJ Advance Media.
Murphy’s office did not make a public announcement about the change until Monday, when asked about it by the press.
The governor said Monday the state wants to have “a smooth testing rollout” for those who choose not to get the vaccine.
“That’s the area that has made it more complicated,” Murphy said at his coronavirus briefing in Trenton.
Asked to respond to lawmakers’ concerns, Murphy said Wednesday he would “like a magic wand” to have everyone back in the office “safely, responsibly at one moment in time.”
“We think this is the most responsible way to do it,” he said during a virtual coronavirus briefing. “And we’re doing this over a period of weeks, not months or years.”
”You see this being done in the private sector, and there are examples all over the map,” Murphy added. “I spoke to a CEO yesterday that delayed their back-to-office to January.”
The vaccine requirement for state employees did take effect as planned Monday, with workers having to show proof of getting their shots. But unvaccinated workers will face regular testing only when they return to work in person, Murphy said.
Among the offices that reopened Monday were in-person services such as motor vehicle, labor, and children and family offices. Employees in Murphy’s office also returned.
The rest of employees will be phased-in on the following schedule:
- Nov. 8: Workers at agencies with more than 2,500 people — including the departments of health, corrections, treasury, environmental protection, transportation, and human services.
- Nov. 15: Workers at agencies that have between 500 and 2,500 employees, including education, the state Parole Board, and community affairs.
- Nov. 29: Workers at agencies that have fewer than 500 employees — including the departments of banking and insurance, agriculture, the Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission, the South Jersey Transportation Authority, the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority, the New Jersey Economic Development Authority, the Civil Service Commission, the state Board of Public Utilities, and more.
As for One Stop unemployment locations? Murphy said those will be “phased in over the next number of weeks.”
NJ Advance Media staff writer Matthew Arco contributed to this report.
Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com.
Brent Johnson may be reached at bjohnson@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter at @johnsb01.