As many companies grapple with how — or if — they should bring their employees back to the office, planning for positive coronavirus cases is emerging as a crucial part of the strategy.
Contact tracing technology, which employees will be informed and how are all now part of the conversation, raising myriad questions around privacy protection and legal liabilities.
“I think it’s something that you know will happen. It’s not if, it’s when and you have to prepare for it,” PwC Advisory Real Estate Director Katherine Huh said.
Her firm, she said, has helped hundreds of companies create return-to-work plans.
“The only thing you are trying to wager is how many cases, and how soon … There are legal things to consider, as well as the flow of business.”
Some real estate executives and politicians are pushing for companies to bring their workers back to their desks, as a way to help New York heal from the economic pain of months of stringent stay-at-home orders. Still, while major landlords like Silverstein Properties, RXR Realty and SL Green have all returned to work, many of their buildings have been at least 70% empty post-Labor Day, as Bisnow reported earlier this month.