Amazon is letting some office employees work remotely through June 2021, joining other major tech companies

Amazon office front desk pictured in Manhattan, New York

Reuters

• Amazon is giving some employees the option to continue working remotely through June 2021, Bloomberg reported Tuesday and Business Insider confirmed.
• "Employees who work in a role that can effectively be done from home are welcome to do so until June 30, 2021," an Amazon spokesperson told Business Insider.
• Amazon's warehouse workers, which the company has deemed essential, have continued working in-person throughout the pandemic despite repeated concerns about the company's health and safety measures.
• Amazon joins a growing list of major tech companies that are allowing most of their office employees to continue working remotely during the pandemic.
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Amazon has again extended its work-from-home policy, allowing some office-based workers to continue working remotely until June 2021, Bloomberg reported Tuesday and Business Insider confirmed.

"Employees who work in a role that can effectively be done from home are welcome to do so until June 30, 2021," an Amazon spokesperson told Business Insider.

"We have invested significant funds and resources to keep those who choose to come to the office safe through physical distancing, deep cleaning, temperature checks, and by providing face coverings and hand sanitizer," the spokesperson said.

Amazon has extended its return-to-work date multiple times as coronavirus outbreaks continue across the US. In April, Amazon set a target date of October 2, but revised it in July, giving employees until January 8.

Amazon did not reply to Business Insider's questions about how corporate office-based workers such as cleaning staff, security, and food service workers would be impacted by the update. 

The company's approach with office employees has stood in contrast to its policies concerning its warehouse workers and delivery drivers, which it considers to be essential "frontline" workers.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, Amazon has required that frontline workers continue to do their jobs in person unless showing symptoms of COVID-19, testing positive, or being ordered to quarantine by public health authorities, despite complaints from workers about inadequate health and safety measures.

Frontline employees working for both Amazon and Whole Foods have repeatedly gone on strike, filed whistleblower complaints with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and individual states' workplace safety agencies, sued the company, and reached out to media organizations to draw attention to what they say are unsafe working conditions during the pandemic.

Amazon said earlier this month that more than 19,000 of its "frontline" workers across the US have tested positive for COVID-19, though its findings have not been reviewed by any independent experts.

Amazon joins a long list of major companies within and outside of the tech industry that are allowing white-collar employees to continue working remotely long-term during the pandemic, including Google, Microsoft, and Uber. Others, like Twitter, have switched to largely remote work permanently.

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