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Michigan Department of State laying off 60% of staff amid COVID-19 pandemic

GF Default - Benson hopes to reduce Michigan Secretary of State office wait times to less than 30 minutes

LANSING, Mich. – The Michigan Department of State (MDOS) will temporarily lay off more than 900 members of its staff starting Sunday, according to a news release.

That is 60 percent of its staff. The layoffs will last two weeks and could be extended.

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READ: Coronavirus in Michigan: What to do while Secretary of State branch offices are closed

“This is an extremely challenging time for our state, our state government, and our department,” said Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson. “This decision was not easy, but is necessary to responsibly steward taxpayer funds at this time.”

All staff who are not able to work full-time under the stay-at-home order are being laid off. Most of them are staff who typically work in Secretary of State branch offices, which are currently closed.

All laid off MDOS employees will be automatically enrolled in the state’s unemployment system. The layoffs will not impact services available to the public.

Many driver and vehicle transactions can be done online or at self-service stations located in grocery stores across the state.

RELATED: Michigan Gov. Whitmer extends expiration of driver’s licenses, state ID cards


About the Author
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Kayla is a Web Producer for ClickOnDetroit. Before she joined the team in 2018 she worked at WILX in Lansing as a digital producer.

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