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Only fully vaccinated staff, clients and visitors will be allowed into its New York and Westchester offices.
Morgan Stanley said staff and customers would not be allowed into the bank’s New York City offices if they were not fully vaccinated, making it the latest in a series of Wall Street companies delay the return of unvaccinated employees.
Employees, customers and visitors will need to certify that they are fully immunized in order to gain access to the bank’s offices in New York and Westchester, New York, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters.
Those who are not fully vaccinated will have to work remotely, the source added.
The policy, described in an internal memo, is one of the most restrictive issued by a major US bank to date. The firm said the goal is to help create a normal office environment, without the need for face masks and physical distancing.
The new policy will take effect on July 12, the source said.
Warning shot
Just last week, CEO James Gorman issued a warning shot to employees still unsure of wanting to return to his buildings. “If you can go to a restaurant in New York City, you can come to the office and we want you to be in the office,†he said at a conference.
Gorman estimated that more than 90 percent of employees returning to the offices were already vaccinated and said he expects that number to approach 100. The bank has not demanded a full return, as at Goldman Sachs Group Inc and JPMorgan Chase & Co, but Gorman said if the offices weren’t full by Labor Day in September, “then we’ll have a different kind of conversation.”
While most U.S. employers say they don’t plan to require their staff to get vaccinated before returning home, some major financial firms have drawn a harder line in recent days. BlackRock Inc told U.S. staff last week that it would only allow those who are fully vaccinated to return starting next month. Bank of America Corp also plans to prioritize the return of vaccinated staff, recalling them all in early September. He said he would make arrangements for unvaccinated people later.
About 72% of employers responding to a survey conducted in May by the consulting and risk management firm Willis Towers Watson said they did not plan to require vaccinations to return to the workplace. Instead, most will require unvaccinated staff to wear masks indoors.
Morgan Stanley had already set up “vaccine-only” workspaces in some divisions, including corporate titles and wealth management, according to the Financial Times, which first reported the news.
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