Back to the office? One large Lehigh Valley company says vaccinated workers can return soon. Will others follow suit?
Olympus Corp. of the Americas employees who have been working from home for more than a year can start returning to the company’s Center Valley headquarters on May 3 — provided they’ve been vaccinated.
“It is completely optional for vaccinated employees to come in that day and after,” spokesperson Stephanie Sherry told The Morning Call on Wednesday.
“Nonvaccinated employees will continue to work remotely at this time until we determine our broader reopening plans.”
Sherry said that while there is no requirement for Olympus employees to receive the vaccine, the company does “encourage all employees to explore the vaccination options available to them,” stemming from federal guidance that vaccination is critical to curb the virus’ spread. Many Olym
pus employees were eligible for the vaccine under phase 1A of Pennsylvania’s rollout, which included professionals who directly support the health care industry.
As such, Olympus is one of the first large Lehigh Valley employers to disclose its initial return-to-the-office plans. Under normal circumstances, the company’s 337,400-squarefoot building at 3500 Corporate Parkway is bustling with about 860 employees, who handle sales, marketing, management and support services for Olympus in North and South America. But since March 16, 2020, those employees — aside from “critical business infrastructure essential workers” — have been working from home.
More announcements from large employers in the Lehigh Valley and beyond are expected in the months ahead, especially as the vaccination rollout picks up momentum and the entire population becomes eligible. In addition, as of April 4, an amended order from the Pennsylvania Health Department now strongly encourages businesses to telework, revising a prior edict that required teleworking unless it was not possible to do so.
Olympus’ plan also brings up what has become a hot-button issue: proof-of-vaccination documents, which have been dubbed “vaccine passports,” that many businesses, universities and officials see as crucial to safely kickstarting the economy. Gov. Tom Wolf on Wednesday said the state is not working on any sort of vaccine passport, adding he’s “not sure why the government would weigh in” if private organizations decided to mandate documentation.
While experts agree private employers can, in general, mandate employees get vaccinated before returning to the office, there are some exceptions and the effective companies will be the ones that practice flexibility with workers in the months ahead. It’s all part of the delicate dance as the world emerges from a lengthy pandemic.
Before an Olympus employee returns to the office, Sherry said, the company has asked them to “complete a vaccination attestation form,” a document that asks for a name, assigned location, type of vaccine administered and date of the dose. In Center Valley, she said, employees must have received their final dose at least 14 days prior to becoming eligible to return to the office.
Sherry said the reopening of the Center Valley building to vaccinated employees will be used as a pilot to help guide the reopening of other Olympus locations later this year.
“Olympus Corp. of the Americas has taken a cautious approach to business operations throughout the COVID-19 global pandemic, using available metrics and CDC guidance to make informed decisions that make the health and safety of our employees and communities our top priority,” she said. “Now, with vaccines becoming more widely available and metrics suggesting an overall decline in number of cases, we feel the time is right to begin making plans for a methodical and safe return to office for our work-from-home employees.”
More companies are sure to follow.