Beginning Monday, Oct. 11, in order to report to work onsite, Met Council employees must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 or get weekly COVID-19 tests and test negative.
Employees who need to test each week must complete their test by 11:59 p.m. each Thursday. To prepare for the first week of the requirement, employees need to test between Oct. 1 and 11:59 p.m. Oct. 7 for clearance to work the week of Oct. 11.
For more information on the vaccine and testing requirement:
Completing the testing requirement
You have the following Council-facilitated options for testing that will automatically update your employee record.
- Onsite and take-home saliva tests will be available at most work sites. Specific processes for accessing a test will be communicated through your division incident command.
- You may choose to schedule a test through HealthPartners and use the code 10397. Refer to this resource for full, step-by-step instructions (PDF).
- Some parts of the Met Council (including the Metro Transit Police Department) will also have access to onsite, rapid tests.
You may also choose to get your own test some other way. If you choose your own method, you will need to manually enter your test results in Employee Self Service.
For division-specific details:
Well@Work not available for weekly testing
As a reminder, employees who are seeking COVID-19 tests to meet the weekly testing requirement should not attempt to schedule appointments at the Met Council's Well@Work clinics. These clinics are not supporting weekly testing.
Employees who are asymptomatic and are not testing to meet the new testing requirement may access tests through the clinics. COVID-19 tests available through the Well@Work clinics are reserved for employees only; dependents should visit other HealthPartners locations or community testing sites.
Results and status process
If you choose one of the Council-facilitated options above, your testing status of completed and your results will be automatically reported to the Employee Self Service system and to you.
If you test positive, you must still inform your supervisor, as we have throughout the pandemic period.
Managers' first Go/No-Go lists will be sent tomorrow
A list will be sent to every manager by 8 a.m. each Friday letting them know if their employees are approved to go onsite – based on vaccination status or testing status. Your manager will communicate any status considerations following that communication.
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Submit proof of vaccination
Employees who are vaccinated must submit documentation to Human Resources to verify vaccination status. The form for submitting proof of vaccination is available in Employee Self Service (ESS).
In order to be exempt from weekly testing when it begins on Oct. 11, proof of vaccination must have been submitted and verified by Oct. 4. Moving forward, you may submit proof of vaccination at any time, but you may still be subject to weekly testing until your vaccination status is reviewed and verified by Human Resources.
For assistance submitting your proof of vaccination:
If you do not remember your ESS password, the system will provide a temporary password. Click the “Forgot your password?” link above the "Sign In" button to reset your password. If you are unable to correctly answer your security questions for the reset, contact the Service Desk for a manual password reset. They will need to know your employee ID.
More information about ESS is available in the Quick Start Guide (PDF) and on the ESS login page under Helpful Links. For questions about ESS, email ESS.HRIS@metc.state.mn.us.
Provide proof of vaccination and get $150
Council members approved a vaccination incentive that will provide a $150 lump sum, cash incentive for every employee who has been fully vaccinated and submits their proof of vaccination through ESS. Proof of vaccination must be submitted and verified by Nov. 26, and the one-time, taxable payment will be included on the Dec. 10 paycheck.
 Proof of vaccination form in Employee Self Service.
FAQs available for contractor vaccination and testing expectation
Effective Nov. 1, the Met Council is asking existing contractors to assure employees and subcontractors are vaccinated or tested weekly when interacting with Met Council employees and/or members of the public in indoor settings where they have regular, in-person contact, or outdoor settings where they are unable to socially distance.
The Met Council Procurement Department communicated this new expectation (PDF) to all of our current contractors last week. It is intended to align with the Met Council procedure requiring employees to either be vaccinated or tested weekly, to do our part to limit continued spread of the COVID-19 virus. We are also committed to making sure we do what we can to support and protect our employees who are working closely with contract employees. There is also a federal mandate that employers with more than 100 employees vaccinate their employees or ensure they test negative regularly.
Procurement staff are helping answer your questions and have put together an FAQ resource for project managers to use as they respond to external inquiries. We will update the FAQs as needed.
Review the contractor FAQs on the COVID-19 FAQ page on MetNet.
Project managers and Met Council authorized representatives will play an important role in communicating this expectation to our contract and vendor partners. We encourage those of you in that role to work with your manager and folks in Procurement to answer questions and trouble-shoot. Review the FAQs linked above or email Procurement@metc.state.mn.us with any additional questions you have, especially if you’re struggling to find a solution.
Make your appointment now to get vaccinated
Check out these tools to find vaccine appointments:
Important reminders related to the vaccine:
- To be fully vaccinated with the Moderna or Pfizer vaccines, two shots are required. If you’ve missed your second dose for any reason, get it as soon as possible.
- You are considered fully vaccinated two weeks from the final vaccine dose.
- Even after you are fully vaccinated, you should continue to follow safety recommendations by public health officials and get tested if you are showing symptoms of COVID-19.
Continue testing to stop the spread of COVID-19
Anyone who is experiencing COVID-19 symptoms should immediately contact their health care provider and seek testing, regardless of their vaccination status. How to get a COVID-19 test:
Announcements for teleworking employees
Telework Agreement Form available
The Telework Agreement Form was updated as the organization prepares for the new, long-term hybrid workplace with a mixture of onsite, hybrid, and remote workers. The form is required for all staff who are teleworking as part of the new schedules that are being finalized this fall. The form is now online and routed automatically through the approval process.
Telework transition timeline
Follow this Councilwide guidance and any division-specific details for your return-to-office timeline:
- Complete the Telework Agreement Form by mid-October and implement at the appropriate time.
- Continue teleworking, if you can, through at least Oct. 31.
- Work groups may bring teleworking employees back onsite now if necessary to address emerging business needs, especially for just a day or two.
- Staff do not need a telework agreement in place for temporary, short-term assignments onsite.
- Return to the office between Nov. 1 and Jan. 3 for critical business needs.
- Work groups may implement the timeline for returning to the office at any time in this window to respond to critical business needs. Exact time determined by work group or individually with manager.
- Departments must notify teleworking employees 30 days in advance of requiring them to return formally to onsite work. If those employees will be teleworking into the future, their telework agreements must be completed 30 days ahead of the required return to the office.
Making your plan
Follow this process to determine and formalize your telework transition plan:
- Department sets and communicates general direction to their staff for when employees should return.
- Teleworking employee determines with their manager their new schedule and effective date.
- Employee completes the online Telework Agreement Form and manager or supervisor approves by mid-October.
Complete required trainings
All teleworking employees are required to complete two trainings in Learn before their teams implement their new schedules: one on the updated Telework Procedure and one on working in the new hybrid workplace, where some staff will be onsite and some will be remote.
The trainings are not assigned in Learn, so staff must use the direct links provided here or locate the trainings in Learn by using the search bar (click the magnifying glass icon in the top menu bar).
Telework Transition FAQs
Teleworkers can review the Telework Transition FAQ page on MetNet for details and tools to help in planning for and implementing their new schedules.
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