By Tom Kirvan
Legal News
In a sense, July 20 was a red-letter day for nearly 350 federal employees in the five courthouses of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan.
On that day, limited numbers of court employees began returning to their offices in Detroit, Ann Arbor, Port Huron, Bay City, and Flint as a first step in a detailed process of resuming normal operations in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Court Administrator David Weaver.
“It’s a significant date in the respect that we are starting to move forward on a long process to get back to normal, depending, of course, on the status of the pandemic,” said Weaver, who has served in the dual role of Court Administrator and Clerk of Court for the past 21 years. “Most of our employees, as they have for the past four months, will continue to work remotely, but small groups of employees will begin to the courthouses on a limited basis.”
The plan is part of nine-page administrative order from Chief Judge Denise Page Hood that was filed July 2, noting that “all employees of the District Court will continue to telework,” although beginning on July 20, staff members “may return to the courthouse only as needed and when directed by their supervisors to perform essential functions that cannot be performed remotely.”
Those working at the courthouse, the administrative order indicated, will be limited in number and in tasks performed.
“Supervisors must establish rotating shift/work-day schedules for days in the office/workplace to ensure that minimum six-foot social distancing is followed at all times while in the workplace,” the administrative order indicated. “Work schedules for case managers and court reporters will be approved by their supervisors, in consultation with the judicial officer, but in no case may more than three members of chambers staff be present in chambers on the same day.”
Employees, including judges and magistrates, also “must be tested for the active COVID-19 virus with negative results within four days before first entering a courthouse,” while “Probation and Pretrial Services officers may be subject to additional testing subject to the direction of their court unit executive,” the administrative order stated.
The federal courts in the Eastern District were closed to the public in late March after a security officer tested positive for the virus. Earlier in March, once COVID-19 cases began to be reported in Michigan, the courts instituted a screening process for those entering the federal facilities, asking if they have been diagnosed with the coronavirus, been self-quarantined, experienced symptoms of the virus, or been in close contact with someone infected by the disease.
The building closures have delayed the completion of the estimated $140 million renovation of the Theodore Levin U.S. Courthouse in Detroit that began nearly 4-1/2 years ago, according to Court Administrator Weaver.
When work on the renovation project is completed this summer, Weaver will take special satisfaction in a job well done as he approaches his retirement at the end of December, capping a 33-year career in the federal administrative ranks.
“It will be great to see all the hard work completed,” said Weaver, whose successor will be chosen from a field of some 100 applicants. “It’s taken a lot of planning and cooperation to handle this while maintaining court operations. It's been a real team effort.”
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