(New York) Morgan Stanley Bank has decided to require not only its employees, but also its contractors, customers and visitors to be vaccinated against COVID-19 if they want to access one from its offices in New York.
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Juliette MICHEL
France Media Agency
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This rule is one of the strictest among those decreed by the giants of Wall Street, which generally allow more flexibility.
It will come into force on July 12, a source close to the merchant bank told AFP on Wednesday, confirming that an internal message on the subject had been sent to employees.
They have until 1is July to say whether or not they are vaccinated against COVID-19, without having to present evidence.
To enter the bank’s premises, customers and visitors will have to declare on their honor that they have received the serum against COVID-19.
Once the new instructions are implemented, everyone entering the offices will be able to abandon the mask and physical distancing rules. Unvaccinated employees will have to stay telework.
Proof
From Wall Street to Silicon Valley, American companies are in the process of thinking about the new working conditions.
According to the federal agency responsible for enforcing laws against discrimination in the workplace (EEOC), employers can require their employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19, with exceptions for medical reasons or religious objection.
They can also ask for proof of vaccination, as long as they keep this medical information confidential.
Asset manager BlackRock has decided to do both across the United States.
Following an internal consultation, the company chose to allow only vaccinated employees to come to the office from July, according to a memo sent last week and consulted by AFP.
Without asking them for supporting documents, but relying on their “honesty”, the company also asked employees to indicate whether or not they were vaccinated.
Visitors must for their part “certify” that they are vaccinated if they want to enter the premises of the establishment. “They are asked to have proof of vaccination with them to the extent that certain sites (it) require,” a spokesperson told AFP on Wednesday.
Goldman Sachs also requires its employees to disclose their immunization status, without however forcing the serum on them.
JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America for their part encourage their employees to be vaccinated and to indicate whether or not they are inoculated, without making it an obligation.
Citi declined to give details on this subject, referring only to a message from the head of human resources indicating that the mask and social distancing measures were in order.
Flexibility
Morgan Stanley boss is pushing for an end to telecommuting.
“If you can eat out in New York, then you can come to the office and we want you at the office,” he said at a conference on June 14. There will be flexibility, he promised. For families who still have difficulty in caring for their children, for example.
But if at the beginning of September the employees are not back in the office, “I will be very disappointed,” he said.
“It is in the offices that we do our work,” he stressed. “This is where our interns learn. This is where we allow our employees to grow. This is where they can discover all those little signals that accompany a successful career and cannot be transmitted through a presentation on Zoom ”.
The new vaccine rule will only apply to offices with large numbers of people in the New York metropolis, not to smaller premises or outside appointments like business dinners.
Some divisions have already created spaces reserved for vaccinated people, said the source close to the group. It is now a question of extending it to all services.
Mr. Gorman had said during the conference that 90% of staff returning to the office were already vaccinated and that he hoped that this figure would rise to 98% or 99%.
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