Jamie Dimon, Chairman and CEO of JPMorgan Chase, is taking a hardline stance on the bank’s vaccination mandate, putting the jobs of unvaccinated workers in jeopardy. This comes after the company instructed its unvaccinated workforce to work from home at the end of 2021, while previously allowing them into the firm’s Manhattan offices with twice-weekly testing. The about-face should not come as much of a surprise, as Dimon has been aggressive in his push to return staff to in-person work. While the company has urged its workers to get vaccinated and boosted, when possible, Dimon has firmly stated that the bank won’t pay its unvaccinated staff to work away from the office.
Although much of the professional world has adopted remote and hybrid work models in the wake of the pandemic, JP Morgan Chase is one of many companies holding fast to the old school values of in-office mentoring and traditional work habits. As the largest bank in America, the firm doesn’t have a company-wide vaccination policy, but its Manhattan headquarters falls under the statewide mandate in New York, bolstering Dimon’s stance. Citigroup, another of the “big four” American banking institutions, has taken an even more strict policy, requiring its entire staff to get the COVID-19 vaccine or risk losing their jobs. The U.S. Supreme Court has blocked President Biden’s national vaccine mandate for large businesses, meaning companies must make their own rules as the pandemic stretches on into the foreseeable future.
