Redfin’s approximately 3,000 employees, which includes agents, will have to be vaccinated if they plan on returning to the office, according to a company-wide memo.
On Wednesday, the Seattle-based brokerage sent a company-wide email stating that the reopening of its headquarters’ offices will be delayed as a result of the rising number of COVID-19 cases.
The reopening was set for September 6 and has not been given a new date yet. Employees will receive a 30-day notice ahead of the new date and will not be able to return to the office unless they are vaccinated.
Starting on August 9, employees will have to confirm their vaccination status online before they can work in Redfin office locations. Employees who work in Seattle, San Francisco, or Frisco, Texas, offices will have their keycard access suspended if they don’t confirm they are vaccinated by August 9.
“At least until infection rates from this new highly contagious delta variant subside, we also have to limit office access. Any employee can come into the office to pick up yard signs or other equipment, but otherwise we’re asking employees who haven’t been fully vaccinated to work from home,” the email says.
But even with vaccines, Redfin is encouraging its employees to continue wearing masks around the office unless they are in a room alone with the door closed.
“It’s obviously your choice, but if you haven’t been vaccinated yet, I hope you get vaccinated today,” the email says. “Redfin will give you plenty of time off to do so. Nearly all people over the age of 11 are eligible for vaccination, but less than half the U.S. has been fully vaccinated, making it easier for the coronavirus to spread to our most-vulnerable friends and colleagues, and to keep mutating.”
Redfin is just one of a slew of real estate companies to update its vaccine requirements.
On Tuesday, Inman reported that Related Companies is requiring all of its 4,000 employees to get vaccinated against COVID-19 by August 31. Those who don’t comply, will be fired.
Related Companies is a New York City-based real estate firm with offices in Boston, Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Washington DC, South Florida, London and Abu Dhabi.
And last month, the Durst Organization announced that it’s making vaccines mandatory for its non-union employees.
The Durst Organization is a New York-based firm that dates back over 100 years. The firm develops, builds, owns, and manages commercial and residential properties that span across New York City, Dutchess County, and Philadelphia.
The Durst Organization will require its non-union employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19 by September 6.
