There might be Minnesota, or labor contract agreements, that restrict things more than the generally accepted rules.
OSHA (Federal Government) says only that the person must be 'qualified.' "Qualified" is pretty much who the employer says is qualified.
NFPA 70E is a standard often referred to for electrical work. If the ballast does not have a plug, for all practical purposes you can only work on the fixture when the power it turned off. OSHA would require a lock-otu and tag-out procedure to be used.
An employer does not have the authority to say 'change the ballast with the power ON.' Not even the use of gloves, face shield, etc., will remove the requirement to turn the light off. The use of protective clothing as a substitute is limited to specific circumstances, and the inconvenience of everyone else in the office is not one of those exceptions.
If the replacement ballast is installed using one of the special plugs (now required for new fixtures), then you can replace the ballast without turning off the power.
