Facebook Says U.S. Employees Need Vaccinations for Office Return

(Bloomberg) -- Facebook Inc. told employees it will require them to be vaccinated for Covid-19 in order to return to the company’s U.S. offices.

“As our offices reopen, we will be requiring anyone coming to work at any of our U.S. campuses to be vaccinated,” a Facebook spokeswoman said in a statement. The company, which told employees of the policy Wednesday, said it will have a process in place for those who cannot get vaccinated for medical reasons. “We will be evaluating our approach in other regions as the situation evolves,” the spokeswoman added.

Facebook expects about 50% office capacity in the U.S. by early September, with a full return by October. Employees can apply to work remotely permanently, and Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg has said he anticipates that as much as half of Facebook’s employees will work remotely in the next decade.

The rise of delta variant of the Covid-19 coronavirus has complicated companies’ effort to bring employees back. Apple Inc. and Alphabet Inc.’s Google have pushed back reopening plans to October from September, and Google also will require employees to get vaccinated before returning to offices.

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