Employers seek clarity amid virus uncertainty
Workplaces have been whipsawed with uncertainty in recent months as coronavirus prevention rules have changed. The news Friday that seven Bay Area counties are recommending that vaccinated people wear masks indoors added another element of unpredictability.
California rules for workplaces haven’t officially changed since they were updated last month, but companies are thinking twice in light of the new guidance from Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara and Sonoma counties.
San Francisco car insurance technology company Metromile has been allowing a very limited number of people into their office, but it has already been requiring masks, the company’s vice president of communications, Debra Jack, said in an email.
“We planned to move into Phase 2 — 50% capacity — later this month,” Jack said. “Given the new guidance and recent outbreaks, we may look to postpone Phase 2 and/or revise our Phase 2 guidelines,” she added. “Beyond our own team, we're eager to help ensure the health and safety of the community at large.”
Last month, the standards board of the state’s
Occupational Safety and Health Administration voted to update workplace rules so that vaccinated people no longer have to wear masks at work. Social distancing also isn’t required anymore, although unvaccinated people still have to wear masks on the job. The board has discussed what would cause it to update those rules should the pandemic worsen, but it has no plans to vote on changes.
Despite the lack of change at the state level, Los Angeles County has reinstituted indoor masking requirements, and other counties have begun recommending them again, throwing companies’ carefully crafted plans into question.
Many technology companies have been planning to ramp up inperson work after Labor Day, said Peter Leroe-Muñoz, senior vice president of technology and innovation policy at the Silicon Valley Leadership Group, which represents innovation economy companies large and small.
“A lot of companies are still in the process of planning for the transition back to their work sites,” Leroe-Muñoz said, adding that those plans might have to be updated to include more expansive masking in light of Friday’s recommendations.
Another option would be extending employees’ ability to work from home.
“The rise in positive COVID cases as a result of the delta variant only adds more uncertainty to that situation,” Leroe-Muñoz said. “What we’re going to see is that certain companies in response to that rise may be more willing to explore more permanent or more expanded remote work options for their employees.”
Vineet Jain, CEO of the Mountain View software company Egnyte, said he has no plans to require masks for the few vaccinated employees who choose to come in to work each day, despite the new recommendations.
“It is totally up to you” whether to wear a mask at work, Jain said, although he’s open to revisiting the issue in the face of spiking virus cases and new variants.
Jain said that while he has been eyeing September as a possible date to require most employees to come back a few days a week, if the situation with the virus worsens, he’ll probably reconsider.
“I would probably err on the side of precaution” and not require people to come back in that case, Jain said.