JPMorgan will no longer hire unvaccinated employees for client-facing roles

By Edward Era Barbacena

JPMorgan is clamping down on hires of new employees who don’t get the COVID vaccine, even as it imposes limits on business travel for unvaccinated workers and forces them to share the costs of testing.

The mega-bank headed by Jamie Dimon said in a memo late Monday that unvaccinated individuals in client-facing roles will keep their jobs but moving forward, the bank will only hire fully vaccinated individuals for those positions.

“Client-facing roles and those requiring business travel, will necessitate employees to be vaccinated to effectively perform their jobs,” the memo said.

JPMorgan said it will continue to “host in-person client events because we greatly value the engagement and relationship-building opportunities” but will limit attendance to those who are fully vaccinated.

Likewise, employees who aren’t fully vaccinated will be allowed to travel for internal meetings but will not travel for client-facing meetings.

“We agree with medical authorities that being vaccinated is the best way to protect yourself, loved ones, colleagues and communities from the virus,” the memo said. “We cannot overemphasize the importance of getting vaccinated.”

The bank also announced unvaccinated employees will pay more in payroll contributions in 2022 — as a way to offset the cost associated with the increased risk of contracting coronavirus and the cost of additional testing.

JPMorgan confirmed the memo but declined further comment.

The bank has taken a softer approach than some of its Wall Street competitors. Unlike Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley — who have forbidden unvaccinated employees from stepping foot inside their doors — JPMorgan allows unvaccinated employees who meet religious or medical exemptions to come to the office as long as they wear masks and complete rigorous testing.

Regardless of vaccination status, JPMorgan said employees will be expected back in the office a minimum of 50 percent and possibly 100 percent of the time, depending on their role and on occupancy limits.

“We understand that not everyone will agree with our thinking and approach. And while we fully respect individual choice, we believe it is our responsibility to undertake these steps,” the memo said.

The new guidelines take effect immediately; they do not apply to bank branches.

The Post has previously reported that at top Wall Street firms the vaccination rate is north of 90 percent. As such, the unvaccinated may be susceptible to being viewed as a small minority standing in the way of getting back to business as usual.

“They are certainly social outliers and maybe social pariahs,” one bank employee told The Post. “Whether it’s explicit or implicit, there will be a view about that employee — people will question whether they can do their jobs.”