Morgan Stanley is a behemoth of a Wall Street bank. Most people are familiar with its name and logo; it's a big hitter. And it's become one of the biggest companies to lend its weight to the business movement that seeks to prevent the further spread of Covid-19 by creating in-house preventative measures.
According to the BBC, and following a recent announcement that its staff would be returning to the office and not continuing to work remotely, a further Morgan Stanley memo has recently been circulated announcing that from July 12th, any member of the workforce - as well as clients and visitors - wishing to visit the Morgan Stanley office buildings in Westchester or NYC must be able to establish that they are fully vaccinated before gaining access to the building.
This would mean that within the offices there would be no need for mask-wearing or social distancing, creating a "normal" feeling for employees whilst at work. And also creating safety for clients, who would feel protected by the assurance that they were being dealt with by vaccinated staff. Whilst the bank are currently enforcing this system on an "honor" basis only, it may in future elect to ask for formal proof of the full vaccination status of its staff and visitors.
If you can go into a restaurant in New York City, you can come into the office. - Morgan Stanley chief executive, James Gorman
It's interesting that despite the surge in remote working since Covid-19 hit the world last year, most big banks have frowned upon the idea of staff working remotely longer term, and are insisting on staff coming back into the office. Morgan Stanley is not alone - JP Morgan has asked for staff to come back in, too, and at Goldman Sachs staff were asked for their vaccination status before coming back into work. They did not, however, insist on vaccinations - simply on proof of staff status in this regard.
Whilst the concept of "no jab, no job" is controversial for some, the Government's position is clear in the US. In December the US Equal Opportunity Commission confirmed that firms have the right to insist that their staff are vaccinated if they wish to enter the workplace (apart from medical or religious exemptions). Maybe Morgan Stanley is leading a movement that will become commonplace.
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