Citi: Gotta get jab to work in office
Citigroup is requiring its employees to get vaccinated against the coronavirus before stepping foot inside any of its major offices.
In a memo to staff on Tuesday, the Big Apple bank run by CEO Jane Fraser told employees they must be fully vaccinated before taking part in a returnto-office plan aiming to have employees back at their desks at least two days a week starting Sept. 13.
“Given the increased number of employees returning to these buildings, and the Delta variant in the US, we are taking this approach to ensure a safe workplace,” Citi Head of Human Resources Sara Wechter, wrote in the memo.
The mandate is a first for Wall Street as financial institutions like Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan and Morgan Stanley do whatever its takes to get staffers back at their desks.
The rule applies to Citi’s major offices in New York City, Boston, Washington, DC, Philadelphia and Chicago, but not Citi bank branches.
Employees who don’t want to get vaccinated will have to make plans with their managers to work remotely, people with knowledge of the decision tell The Post.
There will be no carveouts to the in-office rule for any reason — including religious or health exemptions.
Citi employees will still be expected to wear masks in the office, a policy the bank rolled out after the CDC recommended even vaccinated people mask indoors.
Earlier this summer, Morgan Stanley and Jefferies Financial also announced plans to require employees who wished to return to the office to get the COVID vaccine.
But they have not pulled the trigger yet — making Citi the first bank to do so.
Of course, the mandate could hinder Fraser’s return-to-office plans.
The vaccine requirement comes about a month before employees are expected to return, but it can take up to six weeks to become fully vaccinated.
Goldman Sachs ordered its employees back by July 14, while Morgan Stanley has asked people to return to its offices after Labor Day.