Voicemail: Michigan Department still remote because of COVID

Five years after the COVID-19 pandemic, the voicemail of one Michigan agency says that employees are working remotely to slow the spread of COVID-19.

Since 2020, more than 20,000 government workers have started working remotely instead of showing up to offices in Lansing.

The voicemail of the Michigan Office of Administrative Hearings and Rules says, “To lessen the spread of COVID-19, we are currently working remotely,” Detroit News reporter Beth LeBlanc wrote in a Feb. 21 social media post.

The agency conducts administrative hearings and helps promulgate rules.

Neither the agency’s media line nor the Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity responded to a request for comment about the voicemail.

A Michigan Capitol Confidential reporter visited the Lansing office on Feb. 24 and was not allowed beyond a security checkpoint. A security manager said the reporter could only enter the building’s work areas with an escort. The building is open only for hearings, the manager said.

CapCon will file records requests to see what percentage of employees work from home.

A year-to-year comparison of a parking lot serving the building that houses the department suggests more employees worked in person in 2017 than in 2025.

The lot in 2017:

Courtesy of Google Earth

The same parking lot in 2025:

Courtesy of Google Earth

Michigan’s government has provided subpar services since the pandemic, Rep. Jay DeBoyer, R-Clay Township, told CapCon in an email. DeBoyer chairs the House Oversight Committee.

“Everyone knows exactly how poorly government operates but so many people walk around pretending it isn’t true,” DeBoyer wrote. “It’s time for that to end. This is exactly why the House Oversight Committee is focused on making state agencies accessible to Michiganders, whether they’re trying to make their voices heard or seeking assistance.”

Someone who posted a review on the department’s location on Google Maps said the agency was inaccessible. “In the middle of the hearing my phone died. After it turned back on I called multiple times and tried calling around. They wouldn’t let me join the hearing again and when I tried getting assistance I was sent to a voicemail you can’t leave messages on,” wrote Latoya Jones.

About half of state workers worked remotely as of December 2022, CapCon reported last year.

Remote work hurts hundreds of Lansing’s small businesses, the Lansing Regional Chamber wrote in a Feb. 18 letter to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.

“The vitality of our capital city is directly linked to the presence and activity of state employees, and the ongoing remote work policies continue to impact hundreds of small businesses that rely on a steady customer base,” the letter signed by chamber president and CEO Tim Daman said.

Whitmer’s office didn’t respond to a request for comment.

Jimmy Greene, former president of the Associated Builders and Contractors of Michigan, described Lansing as almost deserted in a March 12 social media post.

“Our Lansing downtown is damn near a ghost town as a result and when legislators are out, even the pigeons leave. Our State Capitol should be bustling and have more than 2 restaurants to eat at,” Green wrote in a post.