Under the CDC’s updated COVID guidelines, people don’t need to quarantine if they’re exposed to the virus, and there’s less of an emphasis on screening people with no symptoms. In other words, the CDC told everyone to just go back to work. But tech is in its own boat.

Tech companies have been laying out their own workplace rules for two years. Sometimes the rules are influenced by the CDC (like when Meta dropped its COVID booster requirement), but remote work is an option at nearly every tech company. If a tech worker is exposed to the virus, they usually aren’t pressured to go to the office anyway.

• In-person work rules have already been decided. The CDC’s new guidelines won’t affect Customer.io, for example, chief people officer Jennifer Fong told me. Customer.io requires daily COVID tests and vaccines.
• It’s unclear whether rules will change for companies like TikTok and Apple, which want employees in the office on a more regular basis. Those companies didn’t return requests for comment.

Tech’s response to the new guidelines marks a shift from how the world responded in the early days of the pandemic, when everything centered around what was coming out of the CDC. “Our team is continuously monitoring this situation but plans to stay the course,” Fong said.

So who’s actually calling the shots? From remote work to vaccine requirements, it’s clear that employees — not the CDC — are the ones that companies are paying attention to.

— Sarah Roach