by 2 minutes Read The Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis is a financial institution based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Howard Schneider/REUTERS (Source: Reuters) In preparation for in-person work, the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis will require all workers to be completely vaccinated against COVID-19 by the end of August, according to the bank’s president, Neel Kashkari. “We need more face-to-face interaction than remote work permits to accomplish our public-service mission, but there is no way for us to bring a critical mass of our workers back into our facilities without maintaining social distance,” Kashkari said in an essay published on the bank’s website. “As a result, we need vaccinations for all personnel.” There is no concerted strategy for a return to office across the US central bank, though Fed Chair Jerome Powell, who has been vaccinated, and others in key roles have begun to hold some meetings in person. Some institutions have indicated that more employees will return to work in the fall. For more than a year, the majority of Federal employees have been working remotely. Many of the Fed’s 12 regional banks say immunizations are strongly encouraged, but only Minneapolis has made it mandatory. The Boston Fed said Wednesday that it is “seriously evaluating all the problems, and will continue to review the relevant factors as we assess that possibility” in regards to a mandate. The Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis says it asks employees to submit their vaccination status so that the bank can follow government guidelines on quarantining and other security measures. According to his essay, more than 82 percent of Minneapolis Fed workers, including Kashkari and the rest of the top leadership, have already been vaccinated. However, there are still about 200 employees who have not stated their immunization plans. To keep their jobs, all employees will need to get vaccinated, he said, with exceptions for those who are unable to due to physical issues or “sincerely held religious convictions.”/n
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