Healthcare Giant Epic Scraps Its Return to the Office After Worker Outrage

The healthcare giant Epic Systems told its employees late Wednesday night that it will allow employees who work at its headquarters to continue working from home until 2021, after workers organized to reverse a decision calling them back into the office next month.

In an email to employees, the billionaire founder and CEO of Epic Judith Faulkner wrote, “We’re now sharing more details to cover the coming months. If you wish, you can continue to work from your Madison-area home until at least the New Year…For those who wish to come in you’re welcome to join us on campus.”

“We appreciate the constructive feedback from many of you,” Faulkner continued. “We believe that in-person collaboration is important, and we look forward to a time when we can all be together again in person.”

The company, which maintains electronic medical records for 54 percent of U.S. patients and employs 10,000 workers, announced in July that workers would be required to come back to the Verona, Wisconsin campus, by September 21. Epic told employees that returning to work was a matter of life and death for those impacted by COVID-19, and that their in-person meetings would save lives.

Other tech giants, including Facebook and Google, have announced that they would remain remote until July 2021. Twitter has told employees they could continue working from home forever if they want to.

Epic’s announcement received widespread backlash from employees, who said the company put their health and the state of Wisconsin at risk. Workers spoke out to the media, launched a petition drive, and began organizing through SMART Local 565 of the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers, to reverse the decision.

On August 8th, Epic paused our phased return to campus in response to a letter from Public Health Madison and Dane County. On August 12th, we updated our policy.

“As of August 13th, staff can continue to work from home until at least the New Year,” a spokesperson for Epic Systems told Motherboard. “For those staff who wish to come in, they are welcome to return to campus. We believe that in-person collaboration is important.

“For the safety of our staff and our community, we’ll monitor the number and location of people on campus and limit the number if needed,” the spokesperson continued. “Staff will receive at least four weeks’ notice before they are asked to return to campus next year.”

At the time of the announcement, Epic also released a tone-deaf video explainer intended to show employees it was safe to return to the office. The video featured testimony from immunocompromised vice president Erv Walter, suggesting to employees with chronic health conditions that it was safe to return to the office.

“You probably saw my sign outside my door, it’s there to remind people that I’m immune compromised, because I had a heart transplant last summer,” Walter said in the video. “My transplant team … gave me the green light to come back as long as I followed some essential precautions.”

Thousands of employees were supposed to return to work at Epic Systems campus, known as the ‘Intergalactic Headquarters’ on Monday, but over the weekend, the company sent out an email pausing the return to work.

Epic’s announcement to fully reverse the decision sets an important precedent for office workers hoping to challenge their employers’ policies on the return to work.