Coronavirus prompts Twitter to allow employees to work from home 'forever'
Twitter will label misleading tweets about COVID-19
The new rule is the latest in a wave of stricter policies that tech companies are rolling out to confront an outbreak of virus-related misinformation on their sites. Facebook and Google, which owns YouTube, have already put similar systems in place.
When Twitter reopens its offices starting around September, its employees can decide whether they want to return or continue working from home "forever," the company confirmed to FOX Business on Tuesday.
The news comes as the country's biggest tech giants extend their work-from- home policies amid the coronavirus pandemic, with some companies like Facebook and Google making work-from-home optional until next year.
"We were uniquely positioned to respond quickly and allow folks to work from home given our emphasis on decentralization and supporting a distributed workforce capable of working from anywhere," a Twitter spokesperson said. "The past few months have proven we can make that work."
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The spokesperson added that the company's employees "are in a role and situation that enables them to work from home and [if] they want to continue to do so forever, we will make that happen." If employees choose to return to the office when the company feels it is safe, they will be allowed to do so "with some additional precautions."
Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey gave the news to employees in an email obtained by Buzzfeed on Monday, saying they would be given the option to work from home permanently if they want to.
The spokesperson said it would likely not be reopening its offices until September with a few exceptions, and environments will likely be somewhat different than before COVID-19 due to extra safety precautions to avoid the spread of germs. Additionally, the company has cut off all business travel before September with very few exceptions and there will be no in-person meetings until 2021.
"We’re proud of the early action we took to protect the health of our employees and our communities. That will remain our top priority as we work through the unknowns of the coming months," the spokesperson said.
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A number of other tech giants have updated work-from-home policies.
Amazon announced its staffers could continue to do so through Oct. 2 if their jobs allow them. Microsoft also confirmed last week that "working from home will remain optional through October unless employees are in an essential role or local authorities mandate otherwise."
Tesla, on the other hand, is restarting his California assembly plant despite not receiving approval from local government officials, highlighting different companies' responses to state shut-down laws.