TRENTON, N.J. (1010 WINS) -- New Jersey's state workers returned to their offices full-time Monday as an order from Gov. Phil Murphy went into place.
State workers were originally due to return after Labor Day, but after Murphy mandated the vaccine for state employees, it was pushed back to Oct. 18.
State workers who aren't vaccinated at this point, including teachers, must submit to weekly COVID-19 testing. A similar mandate goes into effect for childcare workers on Nov. 1.
As the order took effect, a group of state employees filed a federal lawsuit challenging the order because it violates "the liberty and privacy rights protected by the 14th amendment to the U.S. Constitution," according to NJ.com.
State workers were already back in-office twice a week, with a mask-wearing requirement.
The amount of state workers in New Jersey dropped from about 74,400 in 2019 to about 71,200 this year, Civil Services Commission data showed.
Some officials told NJ.com that they didn't think the slightly smaller number of state workers reflected the working conditions in New Jersey, as other businesses face issues retaining employees amid return-to-work plans.
When asked if he thought there would be large amounts of workers retiring come Monday, Murphy said last week he "had not heard that."
Reps for the state's Judiciary and Department of Human Services said the numbers they were seeing were not abnormal, according to the NJ.com report.
But while the worries were minimal in terms of hiring and staffing, there was slight concern over experience on state staffs.
"We were concerned about a brain drain," Communications Workers of America area director Fran Ehret said to NJ.com. "Your senior people do tend to have some institutional knowledge. Having them leave during COVID makes it a little bit harder to pass on that knowledge before you go."
