Good morning,
We are now in the fourth phase of the Department’s re-entry process, which is about preparation. This includes preparing offices to have more workers in them.
To that end, we are moving ahead with the installation of sit-stand desks in offices. We expect many of them will be installed by September. We are working on the schedule to install the remainder in early fall. We hope you enjoy them.
Along with others from the Commissioner’s Office, I am planning to visit district offices in September and October. We will let you know the dates once they are finalized. We also encourage supervisors to use an hour in September to welcome workers back.
We have a couple of August “dos” and “don’ts.” We do remind you that the statewide work rule on COVID-19 vaccination is still in effect and will be this fall. If you are fully vaccinated and you haven’t done so already, please submit your vaccination card documenting this to the DAFS portal (you do not have to confirm whether you have received one or more booster shots – only provide your card showing that you are fully vaccinated). You can submit your card here: instantaneous and secure online portal. If you do not submit that card, you must wear a mask in state offices. Vaccinations are free and easy to get; you can find locations on our COVID-19 website. They help protect you and your co-workers from serious illness.
What you don’t have to do in August, as we had originally suggested, is submit a DAFS Telework Authorization Form (which is different from the DHHS Telework Approval Form). We are shifting the timing of that process to September and will send instructions then.
Speaking of forms, we have discovered there is a glitch in the DHHS Telework Approval system. A small number of workers must resubmit their forms and their supervisors need to review them again. Only those of you who received an email from Desirea Chase, DHHS Director of Workforce and Development, need to do so. Apologies for this: the system is now fixed.
Thanks, Jeanne
Jeanne M. Lambrew, PhD, Commissioner