A more contagious version of the coronavirus is sweeping the country these days and it is causing many companies to change their office-return plans. The Delta Variant has caused virus infections to surge to a daily average of 180% in 14 days. By Thursday, infections have gone up to 45,343 and deaths are up 30% from two weeks ago to nearly 252. All of this has caused companies to make some tough decisions, such as reversing reopening plans or instituting vaccine mandates for employees.
The new surge of the Delta Variant is causing many companies to delay their office-return plans.
Some Companies Mandating Vaccines
While most companies have initially been wary of the legal ramifications of instituting vaccine mandates, most of them have had a change of heart about this matter. Recent court decisions have been ruling in favor of employers being able to require vaccinations from their employees. A recent ruling allowed Houston Methodist Hospital to require health care workers to get shots. A federal judge also ruled in favor of Indiana University to require their students to get vaccinated.
“The legal authority continues to line up on the side of employers being allowed to mandate vaccines if they choose to,” said Douglas Brayley, an employment lawyer at the global law firm Ropes & Gray.
Many companies are striving to be as safe as possible with the Delta Variant surging. However, most of them are not taking this vaccine mandating approach due to employees being against it.
New Spike in Cases not impacting some Companies
However, the new disturbing spike has not caused all companies to adjust their return-to-office plans. Social media giant Facebook is still planning on reopening its offices at 50% in early September. Tech Company IBM also plans to reopen in early September, with fully vaccinated employees being able to go without a mask. Hewlett-Packard Enterprise began allowing employees to return to the office last week, due to a survey from its California employees.
However, some companies like Wells Fargo told their employees that they will reopen their office in early September, but will be cautious about the matter. “The timing communicated in this message is dependent on our assumption that the pandemic continues to remain stable or further improves,” Scott Powell, the bank’s chief operating officer, wrote in the memo. Do you work for a company having to change its return-to-office plans because of this virus surge? Feel free to share in the comments below. As always, like or share this post with someone you care about.
