(New York Post) - Morgan Stanley said it will require employees returning to the office to prove they are fully vaccinated against coronavirus by Oct. 1, sources told The Post.
Previously, employees at the Wall Street giant had to attest that they received the vaccine but did not have to provide supporting documentation. The bank said in a memo sent Tuesday that proof of vaccination will help create a “comfortable and safe work environment” for employees going back to the office.
People close to the bank say that as more workers return to the office — as many as 50 percent of staff are back on a daily basis — the company wants to make sure everyone in the office is fully vaccinated. Morgan Stanley has yet to mandate an official return.
Even when the bank does formally announce a return to the office, unvaccinated employees will be given the option to work from home.
Morgan Stanley chief James Gorman made headlines in June when he said workers could face a pay cut if they don’t return to the office by Labor Day.
“Make no mistake about it. We do our work inside Morgan Stanley offices, and that’s where we teach, that’s where our interns learn, that’s how we develop people,” chief executive James Gorman said during the firm’s annual U.S. Financials, Payments & CRE conference from the bank’s Midtown office, which was held virtually this year.
“If you can go into a restaurant in New York City, you can come into the office.”
But the whole process of bringing people back in a safe manner is proving trickier than expected.
At Goldman Sachs, most Big Apple staff were required to be back at their desks in June. JPMorgan Chase has brought back staff regardless of their vaccination status but is capping office capacity at 50 percent with a longer-term goal of keeping 10 percent of the company’s 225,000 workforce at home permanently.
