The nation’s biggest municipal workforce is being called back from remote working a year after the coronavirus pandemic shut office doors. According to The New York Times, Mayor Bill de Blasio has decided that the 80,000 municipal office employees who have been working from home since last March will have to report back to the office in person, starting May 3. Those workers reportedly include caseworkers, IT specialists, and clerical associates—hundreds of thousands of other city employees, such as police officers and sanitation workers, have been working on site throughout the pandemic. According to the Times, the move is designed to send a message that the city will soon reopen for business as usual. However, workers and union leaders have reportedly expressed fears that it’s way too early to return to the office as New York City is still recording some of the nation’s worst coronavirus stats. A spokesman for the mayor told the Times that a string of safety measures will be brought in to ensure offices are as safe as possible and, if cases surge again, the return will be put off.
