COLOMBIA – Thousands of state employees will return to their offices in the coming days at the request of Governor Henry McMaster, but with each agency presenting its own reentry plan, the journey back will be gradual.
All plans are expected to be approved by the state Department of Administration by March 12, a week after McMaster ordered all state agency leaders to come up with a plan to “quickly return” all employees to the workplace in time. integral.
Your order did not set a deadline.
The agencies requested one to three weeks of additional time to modify workspaces, obtain personal protective equipment and give employees time to care for their children, said Administration Department spokeswoman Kelly Coakley.
Some workers may postpone returning to the office if they need to stay home to care for their children or if they are at high health risk, either for themselves or someone they live with, Coakley said.
McMaster spokesman Brian Symmes said it was time for government officials to get back to work as COVID-19 vaccines became more widely available.
“Millions of Southern Carolinians go to work every day from the beginning, and the governor fundamentally believes that it is time for the agencies to start facilitating the return of government officials,” he told the Post and Courier.
But with about 60,000 workers spread across dozens of agencies – from the handful that make up the Governor’s Mansion team to the approximately 6,500 employees across the University of South Carolina system, ensuring a safe return for everyone is an arduous process. , state officials said.
“The agencies have been given the flexibility to work with employees with disabilities who put them at increased risk of serious illness due to COVID-19, allowing them to continue working remotely, if their tasks can be done remotely, until they have had the opportunity to be vaccinated, ”said Coakley.
USC managers, who have the largest number of civil servants, plan to be almost fully recovered within a month.
On March 21, employees predict that 65 percent of all their employees will be back on the campus system, with 98 percent back on April 17. The phasing-in model is to accommodate employees who are working remotely because of child care responsibilities and those at higher levels are at risk of contracting COVID-19 due to the underlying conditions.
Heather Woolwine, a spokeswoman for the Medical University of South Carolina, said MUSC will use a phased approach with some employees returning to campus on March 15. Everyone will be working on the site on April 30th. Needs for parking, social distance, bus schedules and scheduling working hours were all considered in formulating the plan, she said.
McMaster, who on March 11 visited the Continental Tire plant in Sumter to see a vaccine clinic for workers, noted his ability to stay on the job during the pandemic and said public sector employees should follow his lead.
“We never closed like they did in other states,” he told reporters after his tour. “This place was able to continue, keep everyone working”.
As employees of state and local governments, manufacturing workers were among the 2.7 million people in South Carolina who qualified for the COVID-19 injection as of March 8.
McMaster said the factory is an example of why these workers were included in Phase 1B, because “in these places, you have a lot of people who touch the same things next to each other.”
Nearly 8,700 South Carolinaians died of COVID-19 last year, with the vast majority of them aged 55 or older, according to DHEC data.
Seanna Adcox and Andy Shain contributed from Columbia. Lauren Sausser Charleston contribution.
Follow Adam Benson on Twitter @ AdamNewshound12.