Pedestrian |
May 17, 2021 7:38 AM |
Quote:
Companies Ponder Speeding Up Plans to Bring Workers Back to Offices
By Chip Cutter and Konrad Putzier
Updated May 16, 2021 3:17 pm ET
Rich Lesser, the chief executive officer of Boston Consulting Group, gathered with his executives Friday in the wake of the CDC’s new guidance that says vaccinated Americans no longer need to wear masks and observe social distancing in most instances.
At issue is whether the relaxed rules change how quickly BCG and other companies should bring workers back into skyscrapers from Manhattan to San Francisco.
“It was a surprising decision,” Mr. Lesser said of the new federal guidelines. He said BCG executives would be holding more meetings to think through the company’s plans on Sunday and Monday . . . .
In California, technology company Salesforce.com Inc. said the CDC’s announcement didn’t change its plans for masking or distancing. Salesforce hasn’t mandated vaccinations for its 56,000 employees around the world, and it is initially inviting vaccinated workers in the U.S. to come back to offices in places such as San Francisco and Irvine, Calif., in groups of about 100 people at a time, said Brent Hyder, the company’s chief people officer.
In New York, the day after the CDC announced its new guidance, real-estate attorney Jeffrey Schwartz and his partners met for an outdoor lunch at a restaurant a short walk from their Madison Avenue offices. One or two partners at Schwartz Sladkus Reich Greenberg Atlas LLP said they wanted to let people walk around the office without masks immediately, but most said they weren’t ready . . . .
In Indiana, drugmaker Eli Lilly said it would stick to plans announced last week before the CDC’s new guidance. It aims to bring back 25% of its office workers—roughly 1,750 people—to its downtown Indianapolis headquarters on June 1. Only vaccinated employees can come into the office that month, CEO David Ricks said. Social-distancing and mask requirements will stay in place until July 12, when Eli Lilly opens its offices to more workers, though the company will keep monitoring health data, a spokesman said . . . .
Mandating that workers get vaccinated is generally legal in most instances, employment attorneys said, as long as exemptions are made for medical or religious reasons. That hasn’t stopped lawsuits from being filed over the issue in places such as New Mexico and California. Most employers have shied away from making the shots a requirement, but more may be considering mandates.
Delta Air Lines Inc. said that, beginning Monday, it would require all new hires to be vaccinated, unless they qualify for an accommodation. The airline doesn’t plan to require current employees to be vaccinated, though the company said 60% of the airline’s workers have already received shots. In a broadcast interview with CNN, Delta CEO Ed Bastian said existing employees who chose not to get vaccinated might be restricted from flying international flights . . . .
Enforcing vaccine requirements can be complicated, according to employment lawyers. Companies can request proof of vaccination, though bosses run legal risks if they probe the reasons behind a worker’s hesitancy, lawyers said.
Real-estate professionals were split over whether the CDC news would prompt a more rapid return to city centers, with some calling it an important step toward making people comfortable with returning. Others said the new guidance mattered less than what state officials require.
“Local regulations supersede the CDC, and states have been all over the place,” said Adam Portnoy, chief executive of the RMR Group, which has employees in 30 office buildings around the country . . . .
Many employers are sticking with plans to bring workers back around Labor Day, because the tight job market for workers has made some CEOs concerned about upsetting their workers or pre-empting plans they made based on prior corporate guidance, executives said.
“Employers are walking a tightrope,” Mr. Portnoy said. “They want people back but don’t want a plan that will create attrition in the workforce.”
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https://www.wsj.com/articles/compani...d=hp_lead_pos3
Yup, I think the pendulum is swinging back toward a return to the office as local policies allow it and away some vision of long term WAH nirvana.
But I'm waiting for lawsuits not only by employees unhappy with their employers' policies but also people who may catch COVID and blame it on employers and businesses being insufficiently vigilant that any unmasked people in the store or workplace have been vaccinated (or are frequently tested). I don't think legally just taking peoples' word is going to fly.
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