Citigroup demands workers receive COVID-19 vaccine before returning to headquarters

Citigroup Inc. will require workers returning to its offices in New York and elsewhere to be vaccinated.

The company joins Morgan Stanley in being the only two banks on Wall Street to demand that workers be vaccinated.

“Beginning September 13, all colleagues at our headquarters in New York and other offices in the tri-state area, as well as in Chicago, Boston, DC and Philadelphia, are expected to return at least two days a week and vaccination is mandatory, ”said Sara Wechter, head of human resources at Citigroup, in a post on LinkedIn. She added that anyone returning to the office will need to wear masks and have access to rapid testing.

Workers in other parts of the country will continue to work from home as Citigroup continues to monitor the data.

Branch employees are encouraged to get the vaccine, but are not required to, according to Wechter. They will have to wear masks and undergo rapid tests.

“These are our plans as of today, and I assure you that if the facts change, so will we,” Wechter said.

The majority of Wall Street banks, including JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Goldman Sachs Group Inc., have recommended their employees to receive the vaccine, but do not require them to do so.

Goldman has already asked his New York staff to return to the office. Others, like Bank of America, are expected to bring vaccinated workers back to the office after Labor Day.

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However, not everyone on Wall Street has to go back to office full time.

UBS, for example, will permanently allow up to two-thirds of its employees to use a hybrid schedule that includes both working from home and commuting to the office.