Mayor ends remote work for 80,000 in New York

New York

FOR the past year, New York City has been running in the shadow of a deadly pandemic, with many city and private sector employees forced to work from home, stripping New York of its lifeblood and devastating its economy. But with virus cases seeming to stabilise and vaccinations becoming more widespread, city officials intend to send a message that New York is close to returning to normal: on May 3, the city will compel its municipal office employees to begin to report to work in person.

Mayor Bill de Blasio's decision to bring the nation's largest municipal workforce back to the office represents a significant turnabout for a city that served as the national epicentre of the coronavirus pandemic.

The move is meant to broadcast that New York City will soon be open for business, and to encourage private companies to follow suit - lifting the hopes of landlords whose skyscrapers have sat empty as office workers stayed home.

"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," Mr de Blasio said on March 23. "And it's also going to send a powerful message about this city moving forward."

Yet the move by the city has still sparked concern among some workers and union leaders who fear the return to the office is premature. New York City has among the highest coronavirus case rates in the nation.

Many workers will have to commute an hour or more on mass transit. Others will have to juggle their children's episodic in-person school schedules with their new in-person work requirements.

The new policy in New York, which will be rolled out in phases over several weeks, will affect about 80,000 employees who have been working remotely, including caseworkers, computer specialists and clerical associates. The rest of the city's roughly 300,000-person workforce, many of them uniformed personnel including police officers, firefighters and sanitation workers, have already been reporting to work sites.

Vaccination will not be mandatory for those returning to the office because of legal concerns, according to a City Hall spokesman. City officials are strongly encouraging their workers to get vaccinated and are trying to facilitate that process. Facial masks will also be strongly encouraged but not required in all workplace situations. NYTIMES

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