Remote work for 80,000 New York City office workers to end in May
As vaccinations continue to ramp up in the Big Apple, municipal office workers are preparing to return to the workplace physically — and will begin doing just that starting May 3 under a new directive Mayor de Blasio announced Tuesday.
The mayor’s plan applies to about 80,000 city employees who work in offices. It will not require proof of COVID vaccination, but includes social-distancing and mask-wearing provisions.
“We’re going to make it safe, but we need our city workers back in their offices where they can do the most to help their fellow New Yorkers,” de Blasio said Tuesday morning. “It’s also going to send a powerful message about this city moving forward.”
So far, more than 3.4 million vaccinations have taken place in New York City, and de Blasio wants 5 million New Yorkers fully vaccinated by June. With more vaccine doses expected from the federal government by April, hitting that goal seems more possible than it did just a month ago when doses were in far shorter supply.
Accelerating vaccinations in the city would make transitioning from remote work to in-person easier and less risky, but returning workers will still be required to take precautions. As of Tuesday, about 80% of city workers were reporting to their physical work sites because most city employees are considered frontline workers, according to the mayor.
“There’s going to be a lot of people who are vaccinated coming back to work, and there will be some who are not,” de Blasio said. “But the approach will be focused on distancing, on ventilation, on all the tools that we know keep people safe.”
Under his plan, ventilation systems would be adjusted to “maximize outside air intake,” surfaces would be cleaned regularly according to Health Department standards and face coverings would be made available to workers.
Laura Anglin, de Blasio’s deputy mayor of operations, attempted to clarify whether masks would be encouraged in the workplace, or required.
“If an employee cannot socially distance, they will be required to wear a face mask,” she said.
The city will also make efforts to accommodate workers’ schedules, many of which have changed drastically since the pandemic forced students into remote and blended in-person learning situations.
“We will be doing staggered schedules,” Anglin said. “Making sure that people are in the office sometimes, working remotely sometimes, so we can ensure that we have enough space to keep our employees safe, and with that flexibility, hopefully, employees will be able to deal with remote learning for school and blended learning for school.”
In recent days, de Blasio has criticized Gov. Cuomo for opening fitness classes to the public, but said Tuesday that his plan to bring back office workers is far different because exercise often entails breathing more heavily.
“Different realities,” de Blasio said.
The mayor also said labor unions would be included in the process of reopening office spaces. However, as of Tuesday afternoon, DC 37, the largest municipal workers union in the city, still had not received details of the city’s plan, according to a spokeswoman.
“We already know what happens when we are unprepared: too many workers die unnecessarily. We cannot repeat the mistakes of the past,” DC 37 Executive Director Henry Garrido said. “If the mayor wants to bring back more city workers, he must work with us to ensure it’s done right. We need a guarantee that there will be a mask mandate, personal protective equipment and regular cleanings.”
