From July 12, only employees and visitors fully vaccinated against Covid-19 will be allowed to enter the New York offices of Morgan Stanley. Other US banks are preparing to take similar measures.
Towards the end of teleworking
For the time being, not only employees, but also visitors, contractors and customers wishing to visit Morgan Stanley's offices in New York can simply make a declaration on their honor to prove that they have received all the required injections of the Covid-19 vaccine.
However, the bank is not ruling out the possibility of asking for proof of vaccination status in the future. These new measures will take effect from July 12, and are designed, according to management, to encourage a return to normal working conditions, without masks or barrier gestures.
At a conference on June 14, Morgan Stanley boss James Gorman expressed his wish to see all his employees back in the office from September. "It's in the office that we do our work [...] It's where our trainees learn. It's where we allow our employees to grow," he said at the time.
From July 12, however, unvaccinated staff - who, according to James Gorman, represent only 10% of employees in the offices - will have no choice but to telework.
A legal measure in the United States
According to the U.S. federal agency responsible for enforcing anti-discrimination laws in the workplace (EEOC, or "Equal Employment Opportunity Commission"), such a vaccination requirement is legal on the part of employers, unless it conflicts with a religious reason or medical contraindication. Employers are also entitled to demand proof of vaccination status, provided that medical data is kept confidential.
In the U.S., other institutions are currently considering similar measures to Morgan Stanley. Asset manager BlackRock has also decided to require its employees to be vaccinated against Covid-19 in order to be able to return to face-to-face work from July onwards.
Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan do not ban unvaccinated employees from their offices, but ask them to state their vaccination status anonymously. Vaccinated employees at Bank of America, meanwhile, will be given priority for face-to-face work from September onwards.
In France and other European countries, similar measures are not on the agenda in the banking sector, which favors a gradual return to the office, unlike Wall Street banks, which consider telecommuting to be contrary to corporate culture and increase pressure on their employees.