After originally announcing on March 1 that Ontario Public Service (OPS) civil servants and staffers must return to work three days a week starting April 4, the organization is now slowing that rollout.

In a memo obtained by QP Briefing, Michelle DiEmanuele, head of the OPS, and Deborah Richardson, deputy minister of the Treasury Board, notified OPS employees that beginning April 4, staffers and civil servants would only need to go into work one to two days a week and that the three-days-a-week minimum would be pushed back to May 16.

DiEmanuele and Richardson wrote in the memo that the decision came after employees voiced concerns about balancing child care and caregiving obligations conflicting with the return-to-work order, and the “unique considerations” from employees with disabilities.

With OPS employees return to work beginning April 4, mask mandates for most indoor settings will be gone. However, the memo notes that all employees should “continue to treat individuals with respect, dignity, and understanding, regardless of their decision to wear a mask, or comfort in being around others who are unmasked.”

Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Kieran Moore, whom DiEmanuele had consulted on the first return-to-work memo, announced on March 9 that mandatory vaccination policies would be gone by March 14 and that mask mandates for most indoor settings, excluding public transit and congregate care settings, would also be gone by March 21.

Moore had similarly urged Ontarians to be “kind, considerate and respectful” of those who would continue to mask and added that masking “has to be, eventually, an individual choice based on an individual's risk assessment.”

Back in August, the OPS introduced a soft vaccine mandate for its over 60,000 employees, requiring them to either get vaccinated or undergo regular testing. The OPS memo from Friday notes that the organization will continue to “(encourage) vaccination among OPS employees” noting that 92 per cent are already vaccinated.

According to the memo, DiEmanuele and Richardson are continuing to work on a “future of work” policy that would explore more possibilities for hybrid work models that would be ready for September.

Ontario Public Service slows down return to work

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