Morgan Stanley To Issue Strict Employee Vaccine Policy, Take Away Building Access For Unvaccinated

Morgan Stanley (MS) will require employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19 before they can return to New York office locations starting in July.

The ban is being enforced for both workers, clients, and visitors in New York City and Westchester County, New York, starting on July 12, CNBC confirmed.

The news outlet said that all Morgan Stanley staff are required to attest to their vaccination in the New York metropolitan area by July 1.

Those workers who are not fully vaccinated will continue working remotely, Morgan Stanley told employees in a memo on Tuesday obtained by Financial Times.

The memo from Chief Human Resources Officer Mandell Crawley read in part, “Starting July 12 all employees, contingent workforce, clients and visitors will be required to attest to being fully vaccinated to access Morgan Stanley buildings in New York City and Westchester.”

Crawley continued in the memo, according to Financial Times, by saying that those that do not attest to being fully vaccinated by July 12 would lose building access, adding that the “overwhelming majority of staff” had already reported getting their COVID shots.

Morgan Stanley previously said that it would only require employees in certain areas of the company to be vaccinated to return to the offices, CNBC said.

Morgan Stanley employees do not need to currently show proof of their vaccination status as the company uses an honor system, according to Financial Times. It was unclear if the bank would change its policy going forward.

Morgan Stanley is not the only financial institution that has implemented a vaccination requirement for staff in its offices.

Back in May, Blackstone told employees within its investment divisions that they could return to company offices full-time on June 7 if they were fully vaccinated against the virus, Bloomberg reported.

Also, in June, Goldman Sachs told workers it would be required to disclose their vaccine status to return to the office, but it still would allow unvaccinated staff in buildings with face masks, according to CNBC.

JPMorgan Chase vaccine disclosure among employees is voluntary, Financial Times said.

With vaccinated employees in the office, companies are able to ease back mask and social distancing policies as they look to part to get their offices back to normal operation.

Morgan Stanley CEO James Gorman warned employees about not returning to the office as he said earlier in June during an investment conference webcast, “If you can go to a restaurant in New York City, you can come into the office, and we want you in the office.”

More than 70% of New York adults have received at least one dose of the COVID vaccine, with the majority of the state’s pandemic restrictions being rolled back to date, according to the New York State Department of Health.

Shares of Morgan Stanley were trading at $86.25 as of premarket hours on Wednesday, up 55 cents, or 0.64%.