RALEIGH – Will Red Hat join the growing list of companies requiring that employees be vaccinated before returning to the office? What about Pendo, the fast-growing software startup near Red Hat in Downtown Raleigh?

Here’s the latest:

At Red Hat

Red Hat’s Raleigh office is also open for employees, though Allison Showalter, a spokesperson for the company, noted that it is open on a “limited capacity.”  The company planned to hire as many as 500 new employees in May 2021, with a focus on recruiting for these positions in the Triangle and in Boston, though company executive Mike McGrath told WRAL TechWire at the time that they wouldn’t limit hiring to those positions.

Showalter noted that Red Hat’s policies regarding workplace location — or what she deemed “our global ‘return’ framework” — does not currently involve an expected date where company employees would be expected to return to offices for in-person work.

McGrath had told WRAL TechWire in May that remote-based work for employees would continue until at least September 2021.

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Showalter, on behalf of Red Hat, declined to comment on whether the company would consider requiring a COVID-19 vaccine for employees, though she noted that the company considers health and safety its top priority in a written statement to WRAL TechWire.

“How our associates have adapted to working from home has also evolved,” said Showalter.  “Even before the pandemic, Red Hat had a globally distributed workforce, so collaborating remotely and continuing to innovate and deliver with customers and partners in this way is something we were, in many ways, well-prepared to do.”

Those workers who choose to work from an office will follow protocols, said Showalter, “including daily self-assessments, on-site temperature checks, and mask requirements.”

At Red Hat parent IBM, CEO Arvind Krishna said in April that the vast majority of workers wouldn’t return full-time to in-person offices. He  updated policies in June to note that vaccinated workers could return to work, without wearing masks, in September.  The company has not commented to WRAL TechWire about whether they will modify that latest plan.

At Pendo

The Pendo office has been open on a voluntary basis, though staff are not required to work from it, said Laura Baverman, director of communications for the company, which recently raised an additional $150 million.

“We do not have a vaccination requirement today but we are researching how to create one as part of our return to office plan. We do require anyone who hasn’t been vaccinated to wear a mask if they come to an office,” said Laura Baverman, director of communications.

The company, which according to Baverman still plans to double the size of its team by the end of its fiscal year in January 2022, does not require a COVID-19 vaccination.

“We’ve been encouraging employees to visit an office and meet with their team in person if they are comfortable with it,” said Baverman.  “We’ve also started to bring back amenities like free Thursday lunches and more office snacks. We’ve had a good number of employees in the office for the summer.”

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