(C) Minnesota Reformer
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Minnesota state employees must be vaccinated or be tested weekly for COVID-19

By:   ['Ricardo Lopez', 'More From Author', '- August'], Minnesota Reformer
Date:None

Starting Sept. 8, Minnesota state employees will need to prove they are vaccinated or be tested weekly for COVID-19 to provide services outside of their home, Gov. Tim Walz announced Thursday.

“Vaccination is the best way to keep employees and the people we serve safe and ensure the Delta variant does not derail our economic recovery,” Walz said in a statement. “The state is leading by example and working to get our public employees vaccinated to protect themselves, their coworkers, and their communities. With this action, we’re joining businesses and colleges across the state who have taken this important step, and I urge other employers to do the same.”

Employees who are approved to work remotely will not be required to be tested and will only need to be vaccinated if they enter state workplaces for longer than 10 minutes. Testing will be required on a weekly basis.

State government joins a number of private employers, including Minnesota hospitals and health care organizations that announced vaccine mandates for their employees. The University of Minnesota says it will require students to be vaccinated once the U.S. Food and Drug Administration gives full approval to the vaccines. The U move would require approval from the Board of Regents.

The Minnesota Association of Professional Employees (MAPE), a labor union of professional and supervisory employees, said it supported the goal of widespread vaccination but said it raised concerns with its execution.

“MAPE and our labor partners see ways this policy can be improved,” MAPE President Megan Dayton said in a statement, saying the union wants clarity on whether state workers will be tested on-site at their workplaces, who will cover the cost of testing and whether rural state employees would have easy access to testing, among other concerns.

Other state and local governments have begun moving towards requiring vaccines for employees amid the spreading of the Delta variant, which is more transmissible. Some GOP-led states, like Texas and Florida, meanwhile, have moved towards banning vaccine mandates.

Senate Majority Leader Paul Gazelka, R-East Gull Lake, criticized the new directive and explicitly said it does not apply to the Minnesota Senate.

“Instead of mandates, we will continue our policy of allowing staff and members to work remotely, and those who want to can wear a mask and get vaccinated,” he said in a statement. “I believe this approach protects safety and freedom together. Our priority continues to be finding this important balance.”
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