Lamont: Customer-facing state offices to reopen June 1
In another sign of normal life returning as the pandemic ebbs, Gov. Ned Lamont on Thursday announced that state agencies that serve customers face-to-face, such as the Department of Social Services, the Department of Labor and the Department of Motor Vehicles will reopen on June 1.
“All of our customer-facing offices in state government will be fully open,” Lamont said during a news conference in which he described in baseball terms that COVID is “in the bottom of the ninth.” The governor said customers will likely be required to wear masks.
And on July 1, 50 percent of the 50,000 state-employee workforce will return to their agencies and departments.
“We’re going to start getting people back to the office on a moreregular basis,” Lamont said. “I think it’s time and I think it makes it easier for people to connect.”
There will still be appointment options and online services, as state departments seek to more efficiently use their office space, Lamont said.
“These are the ways we’re trying to make it a little easier,” he said. “If you can’t do it remotely, you can’t do it virtually, you can make an appointment.”
With fewer people in offices because of telecommuting, Lamont is looking to downsize state properties.
“We’re downsizing some of our big office leases as well,” he said.