Dive Brief:
- JPMorgan Chase will lift its ban on hiring unvaccinated people April 4, the bank said in a memo published Monday by CNBC.
- The bank, on that day, will also discontinue its semiweekly mandatory testing of unvaccinated employees, it said.
- Wearing a face mask became optional, effective Monday, inside JPMorgan’s corporate buildings for vaccinated and unvaccinated employees alike, the memo indicated.
Dive Insight:
As the COVID-19 caseload declines, the nation's largest bank is backpedaling on several pandemic restrictions.
"We are learning to live with COVID as part of our new normal," the bank wrote Monday. "The virus has shifted to cause less severe illness, there is now a high level of vaccine immunity and natural immunity from infection, and we are once again enjoying the benefits and energy that comes with being together in the office on a regular basis."
The bank tightened its pandemic-related policies in October, banning travel and in-person meetings for unvaccinated employees and those who refused to report their vaccination status.
JPMorgan also required unvaccinated staff to be tested for COVID-19 twice per week. And that month, the company instituted a ban on hiring unvaccinated individuals for certain positions, including client-facing roles.
Monday's move rolls much of that back. There are exceptions, however.
The bank’s New York City-based employees, for example, must continue to meet the city’s vaccination requirements.
JPMorgan, as of April 4, will stop asking employees to report COVID-19 infections and will no longer require them to submit to contact tracing — a move it said aligns with guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
"If you are sick with COVID or have symptoms of any other illness that may be contagious, please do not come into the office," the bank cautioned. "And if you do test positive for COVID, please exercise good judgment and common sense in deciding if colleagues with whom you've been in close contact would want to know."
The bank added it will maintain some protocols, such as improved air filtration and cleaning standards, as well as rules surrounding isolation and quarantine.
"Masking requirements may return if there is another spike in cases, or a variant begins to spread that causes severe illness in the general population," the bank wrote. "But this will only happen based on strict criteria or if mandated by state or local government authorities."
JPMorgan Chase ditched mask mandates for vaccinated workers last month, according to Bloomberg. Monday's policy update drops the bank's masking requirement for unvaccinated workers, too.
“We will continue to monitor developments closely and will be prepared to reintroduce practices and protocols when and where needed,” the bank said in its memo.
