BofA is recalling office workers by Labor Day
In a memo, bank says it's starting with vaccinated employees, then unvaccinated. Some business travel can start to resume, too.
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◼️ The banking giant says it ‘thrives on connections and collaboration’
◼️ Should be a boost for uptown
◼️ Unvaccinated workers will be masked, tested and screened
With bank workers set to return to uptown by Labor Day, uptown should get some new life.
by Tony Mecia
In a sign that work-from-home days are numbered, Bank of America told its workers on Thursday that it expects them to start coming back to the office by Labor Day.
In the last few months, many smaller employers have been returning their workers to offices, at least partially. But many of Charlotte’s largest employees — the banks, mostly — have been the most cautious and the slowest to reopen their offices. That also has meant that uptown has lagged behind most other areas of town in returning to normal.
In a memo to employees on Thursday that was obtained by The Ledger, Bank of America said to get ready to come back in.
It read:
We are a company that thrives on connections and collaboration — whether it’s with a client, community partner or each other. …
In our initial phase of returns, we are inviting back U.S. teammates who have been vaccinated and shared their status in our Vaccination Status Tool. The current plan is for vaccinated teammates to have fully returned and be working in the office by the week of Labor Day. …
Recently, we announced these employees can hold in-person meetings with clients and with influencers outside of bank facilities, including local board meetings. In July, we’ll communicate these employees can return to client-driven business travel … and no longer need to wear face coverings on their work floor, practice physical distancing or complete in-office coronavirus testing and daily health screenings.
The memo said that after the initial phase of returns, the bank will “welcome back” everyone else — those who have not been vaccinated. If they haven’t told BofA they are vaccinated, they’ll have to wear face coverings, practice physical distancing, be tested for Covid twice a week, be screened daily and have to use designated work areas, the memo said.
It said it would give employees 30 days’ notice before they would be required to be back.
Bank of America is the fourth-largest employer in the Charlotte region, with an estimated 15,000 workers, according to the Charlotte Business Journal’s Book of Lists.
Its CEO, Brian Moynihan, had said earlier this month that he had wanted to start returning to a normal office environment by Labor Day. Today’s memo puts that into motion.
What it means: This should provide a boost to the pace of life in uptown. In addition, it might prompt other companies to make moves to return their workers, too. Still, it probably won’t mean that 100% of workers are in the office 100% of the time. Many companies are reintroducing workers gradually, and the three-day-in-the-office workweek seems to be common.
Related Ledger article:
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Executive editor: Tony Mecia; Managing editor: Cristina Bolling; Contributing editor: Tim Whitmire, CXN Advisory; Reporting intern: Lindsey Banks