Morgan Stanley will reportedly disallow its employees and clients who are not vaccinated against Covid-19 to access the offices in New York and Westchester, as many major Wall Street firms defer the return of non-vaccinated staff. Those who are not vaccinated will have to work remotely until they get themselves vaccinated.
According to credible sources, the new policy, which is the strictest among those announced by the U.S. banks so far, will become applicable for employees on July 12. The policy will help in creating a normal work environment, eliminating Covid-related restrictions on face masks and social distancing norms inside the office premises.
Morgan Stanley had already executed a vaccine-only policy for workspaces in some sections including institutional securities and wealth management, as reported by a reputed source.
James Gorman, Morgan Stanley’s CEO, has recently taken a firm stand on the employees still hesitant to return to offices, arguing that if they are at ease to dining out in restaurants in the New York city then they might as well feel safe at workspaces and that they wanted its employees in the office.
The CEO estimated that over 90% of the staff back in the offices were already fully vaccinated and he anticipates the number to be closer to 100%. The bank hasn’t yet directed a full return as at other banks such as Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and JPMorgan Chase & Co., but Gorman implied that if the offices weren’t fully occupied by Labor Day in September then they will have to take strict decisions regarding the same.
While many U.S. firms state that they do not intend to make inoculation a mandate for their staff to resume work in offices, some major companies have pressed for vaccination.
BlackRock Inc. recently stated that it would allow only the vaccinated staff to return. Also, Bank of America Corp. intends to give precedence to fully vaccinated employees for returning to office premises by early September. While some employers will require unvaccinated employees to wear masks indoors.
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