(HARTFORD, CT) – Governor Ned Lamont today announced that he is ordering all executive branch state office buildings closed to the public on Thursday, December 17, 2020, due to the severe winter storm conditions that are anticipated to impact Connecticut.
“After consulting with the state’s emergency management team, we have decided to direct all Level 2 state employees who have been physically reporting to work during this pandemic to stay home out of an abundance of caution as road conditions are expected to severely deteriorate Thursday due to the winter storm,” Governor Lamont said. “I strongly encourage private sector employees consider enacting similar policies for their employees, as road conditions will be rough during the day.”
Therefore, the governor is directing as follows:
- Level 2 state employees who are able to telework shall telework for the duration of the storm-related closures;
- Level 2 state employees who were designated as Level 1 for the purposes of supporting the state’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic who are able to telework shall telework for the duration of the storm-related closures unless otherwise directed by their commissioner or agency-head; and
- Level 2 state employees whose job duties cannot be performed via telework should not report to work in-person.
Level 2 state employees are all of those who were previously designated as “nonessential” based on their respective job duties, and Level 1 are those who were previously designated as “essential.” The terminology used for these classifications was modified through an executive order issued in 2018.