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Wall Street titan Goldman Sachs is joining Main Street chains like Walmart in bidding farewell to face masks.

In an email to employees Wednesday, a copy of which was obtained by The Post, the investment banking giant said fully vaccinated US employees will no longer have to wear masks — effective immediately.

US staffers who register their vaccination status via an internal website will also no longer need to be tested for coronavirus starting on June 1, said the memo signed by Goldman’s Global Medical Director Dr. Michael Rendel and Goldman’s Chief Administrative Officer Laurence Stein.

Goldman’s announcement is in line with new guidance from the Centers for Disease Control which says fully vaccinated people no longer have to wear masks indoors. It follows similar moves by large retailing chains like Walmart and Target, which have also made masks optional for fully vaccinated workers.

Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon has been pushing for employees to return to work. REUTERS

The move comes as Goldman CEO David Solomon continues to push staffers to give up their cushy work-at-home routines and return to the office. Ditching the masks stands to make working conditions more bearable for incoming interns and returning staff.

Solomon has asked all US employees to return to their desks by June 14.

Goldman’s NYC-based staff have been allowed to return to the firm’s global headquarters at 200 West St. since last summer, but only about 20 percent have chosen to do so — much to Solomon’s chagrin.

Solomon has been vocal about his dislike for remote work — even as he has made headlines for jetting off to lavish getaways in the Bahamas and Barbuda using the company’s plane.

Speaking at Credit Suisse’s annual virtual financial services forum in February, Solomon said work from home was “an aberration that we are going to correct as quickly as possible” and “not a new normal” for employees at the white-shoe firm.

Solomon has also lamented that interns can’t learn “sitting at home.”

This year, employees will be returning to the office ahead of the company’s vaunted summer internship program.

A New York state appeals court on Thursday restored most of a sexual harassment lawsuit brought by Sara Tirschwell — a former TCW Group fund manager and NYC mayoral candidate — against her former employer, considered Wall Street’s first major case of the #MeToo era.

In a 4-0 vote, the Appellate Division in Manhattan said Tirschwell, who sued for $30 million in January 2018, can now seek punitive damages from TCW and her former boss Jess Ravich, who oversaw the firm’s alternative products offerings.

It also revived claims that Los Angeles-based TCW, with about $248 billion of assets under management, retaliated against Tirschwell by firing her for complaining about Ravich’s conduct, and improperly withheld support she needed for her job.

Tirschwell, who last month was thwarted in her bid to run in NYC’s Republican primary for mayor, has said Ravich pressured her to have sex in exchange for supporting her distressed debt fund and withdrew his support when she stopped.

Sara Tirschwell’s sexual harassment lawsuit against her former employer TCW Group is considered Wall Street’s first major case of the #MeToo era.AFP via Getty Images

“We look forward to presenting our case at trial,” Tirschwell’s lawyer Steven Storch said.

TCW has said Tirschwell’s performance had already put her job in jeopardy, and that it fired her for cause in December 2017 because of a fifth compliance violation.

A spokesman, Doug Morris, said TCW will defend against Tirschwell’s meritless claims, and that she was “properly terminated.”

Ravich has denied Tirschwell’s claims against him, and said he was her biggest supporter at TCW.

His lawyer, Robert Sacks, said the remaining claim against Ravich was “meritless and factually implausible, and he looks forward to explaining to a jury why.”

In restoring the punitive damages request, the appeals court said conditioning support for Tirschwell on sex could, if proven, show that Ravich discriminated “with willful or wanton negligence, or recklessness, or a conscious disregard of the rights of others.”

The court also said it was unclear whether TCW had a non-pretextual reason to fire Tirschwell, because some violations appeared “non-serious” and involved mitigating factors.

Ravich left TCW in 2019. Tirschwell, a Texas native, last month was removed from the GOP primary ballot to become NYC’s next mayor after the Board of Elections found she did not gather enough valid Republican voter signatures to qualify.

WeWork’s ousted CEO Adam Neumann might finally find the door with a renegotiated exit package.

Neumann received a juiced-up stock award worth $245 million, on top of $200 million in cash, as part of a sweetheart exit package from the office rental company he led to disaster, regulatory filings show.

The fresh payout is part of a renegotiation of his massive 2019 exit package that sparked a long-running battle between Neumann and WeWork’s main investor SoftBank.

The new deal is meant to end the dispute and clear the way for the company’s public debut, the Wall Street Journal reported. 

The payout was disclosed in regulatory filings related to WeWork’s plans to finally go public through a SPAC merger with BowX Acquisition Corp.

A woman works in a meeting room at a WeWork in London on April 13, 2021.TOLGA AKMEN/AFP via Getty Images

The filings show WeWork, now led by real estate legend Sandeep Mathrani as CEO, gave Neumann an enhanced stock award worth $245 million in February. He also received $200 million in cash and was able to refinance $430 million in debt on favorable terms.

In addition, the deal allowed a company controlled by Neumann to sell almost $580 million in WeWork stock.

Neumann has been negotiating his exit from the company he founded since 2019, when the company botched its effort to go public through an IPO.

After a botched attempt at an IPO, WeWork is again preparing for its public debut.TIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP via Getty Images

Shortly after the company published regulatory filings for its IPO that revealed staggering losses and questionable management decisions, WeWork’s valuation cratered and Neumann was forced out as CEO. 

Neumann, however, remained in a strong bargaining position as he still held the position of chairman and his shares of the company commanded more voting power than those owned by others. That led to an ugly divorce between Neumann and WeWork’s primary investor, Softbank. 

Within weeks of the botched IPO, WeWork was running low on cash and Softbank prepared a rescue package.

WeWork gave Adam Neumann a massive exit package in 2019 but the ex-CEO has been in a battle to renegotiate ever since.TOLGA AKMEN/AFP via Getty Images

In order to get rid of Neumann amicably, the Japanese conglomerate agreed to give Neumann a $185 million consulting fee, to allow an entity he controls to sell $970 million of stock and to refinance $500 million in debt tied to his remaining shares.

But Softbank later reneged on the deal as the COVID-19 pandemic struck, saying certain conditions weren’t met. Neumann, in turn, sued Softbank.

The latest payout is expected to end the dispute, the Journal reported.

Along with the renegotiated exit package, WeWork also confirmed in the filings news reports that Neumann had helped his former company secure its deal to go public by meeting with the BowX team. 

A Massachusetts judge on Thursday rejected Robinhood’s bid to block state regulators from moving forward with their enforcement action alleging that the online brokerage encourages inexperienced investors to place risky trades without limits.

Suffolk County Superior Court Judge Kenneth Salinger said Robinhood could continue challenging in court the validity of the state’s new fiduciary rule, which underlies Massachusetts Secretary of State Bill Galvin’s case against it.

But Salinger said it did not follow that he should in the interim block Galvin, who oversees the state’s securities division, from moving forward with his case, noting that some of the claims were not based on the new regulation.

“If the court were to strike down the challenged regulation, the division would still be entitled to press its separate claims that Robinhood’s alleged conduct was nonetheless unethical or dishonest,” Salinger wrote.

He requested further briefing on whether Robinhood’s challenge to the fiduciary rule should be put on hold pending the outcome of Galvin’s administrative case, though he said it would be “unusual” for a judge in his position to do so.

Debra O’Malley, a spokeswoman for Galvin, said he was pleased with the ruling. Menlo Park, California-based Robinhood had no immediate comment.

Massachusetts regulators expressed concern about Robinhood’s operations even before the GameStop rally that put a greater spotlight on Robinhood and similar retail trading apps.NurPhoto via Getty Images

Galvin announced the case against Robinhood in December, before the social media-driven rally in stocks like GameStop, caused by retail investors buying the stocks on platforms that included Robinhood and other apps.

He accused the app-based service of using strategies that treated trading like a game to lure young, inexperienced customers, including by having confetti rain down on the user’s screen for each trade made on its app.

Robinhood sued in April, arguing Galvin lacked authority to adopt the fiduciary rule and that it conflicted with federal law. The Securities and Exchange Commission in 2019 adopted its own rule for brokerages that rejected the standard Galvin was enforcing.

Best Buy raised its annual sales forecast on Thursday, saying the latest round of stimulus checks had kept consumers buying home electronics, while acknowledging that a reopening economy threatens to slow growth later in the year.

Shares of the company, which have gained over 20 percent this year, rose about 5 percent in morning trading as it also reported better-than-expected first-quarter results.

Best Buy was among the biggest retail winners during most of the health crisis last year as stuck-at-home Americans set up remote workspaces and invested in home appliances leading to a surge in sales of laptops, webcams, refrigerators and other electronics.

“We’re still going to see a population that likely is going to be living some hybrid life for the foreseeable future and I think the refresh cycles as a result are going to speed up as people look for that new and better way to work and school from home,” Best Buy Chief Executive Officer Corie Barry said in an analyst call.

However, Barry added it was difficult to gauge the impact on sales from a switch in consumer spending to activities such as eating out, traveling and social events in the later part of the year, and after the stimulus boost peters out.

The company forecast second-quarter comparable sales to rise 17 percent and expects full-year comparable sales to rise 3 percent to 6 percent, compared to a previous forecast range of a fall of 2 percent to a rise of 1 percent.

Best Buy credited stimulus spending and pandemic-boosted buys of laptops and other electronics as it boosted its sales forecast for the year.Getty Images

It expects comparable sales to fall in the second half of its fiscal year.

Barry also said Best Buy’s inventory of electronics was largely unaffected by the global semiconductor microchip shortage, but the company was keeping an eye on the changing situation.

The company’s comparable sales rose 37.2 percent in the first quarter ended May 1, beating analysts’ estimates of a 22.7 percent increase.

Excluding one-time items, the company earned $2.23 per share, topping estimates of $1.39 per share.

Federal officials say Boeing will pay at least $17 million and take steps to fix production problems on its 737 jets including the Max.

The Federal Aviation Administration said Thursday that the settlement covers the installation of unapproved sensors and other parts on some Boeing 737 NG and 737 Max planes built between 2015 and 2019.

The settlement, while not a large sum for Boeing – the company had $15 billion in revenue in 2020, a down year — is the latest black eye for the iconic American manufacturer. Boeing is still struggling to recover from two deadly crashes that led to a long grounding of Max jets worldwide and other problems that have plagued the Max and other aircraft models.

The FAA said Boeing will pay the $17 million civil penalty within 30 days and could be hit with about $10 million in additional fines if it fails to take steps including preventing the use of unapproved parts. The FAA said Boeing also must analyze whether the company and its suppliers are ready to safely raise production rates for the 737.

A Boeing spokesman said the company “fully resolved” the problems in its production system and supply chain. “We continue to devote time and resources to improving safety and quality performance across our operations,” including ensuring that employees comply with regulatory requirements, the spokesman said.

The settlement covers issues previously identified by the FAA. The agency had proposed a $19.7 million penalty for Boeing’s use of unapproved sensors on nearly 800 planes and $9.3 million for installing unapproved wing panels on more than 300 planes including Max jets and an older 737 model called the NG. The wing panels provide extra lift during takeoff and landing, and ones made by a Boeing contractor had failed a quality test.

Boeing’s 737-800 NG aircraft, which is also included in Boeing’s settlement payout to the government.NurPhoto via Getty Images

In January, Boeing agreed to pay $2.5 billion to avoid possible criminal prosecution for deceiving regulators about the safety of the Max. It faces lawsuits filed by families of passengers killed in the Max crashes.

Since the FAA cleared the Max to return to flight late last year, more than 100 newly built ones were idled by a problem with electrical grounding of some cockpit equipment. Boeing also held up deliveries of the larger 787 jet for several months because of a flaw in how panels of the carbon-fiber fuselage were joined.

This month, two leaders of the House Transportation Committee said they are requesting more information from Boeing and the FAA about those recent problems.

Shares of Chicago-based Boeing rose 3 percent in midday trading after the CEO of its largest customer, Southwest Airlines, said the airline has room to add nearly 500 new planes in the coming years. Southwest CEO Gary Kelly told The Dallas Morning News that the airline will need more planes after adding new destinations and restoring its network after the coronavirus pandemic slowdown that hit travel last year.

Gap will begin selling a new home goods line exclusively through Walmart’s website next month under a multiyear partnership.

The collection of more than 400 items is Gap’s first venture into the home category and it’s selling everything from bedding and bath goods to home decor. The collection will appear on Walmart’s site on June 24. They will eventually make it into Walmart stores, the companies said, though no financial terms were disclosed Thursday.

Walmart has aggressively expanded home goods sales, a category that grew even hotter during the pandemic as spending shifted from dining out and travel, to the place where families spent most of the last year.

Anthony Soohoo, executive vice president of Walmart’s home division, told The Associated Press that adding a brand like Gap will attract new customers.

Gap, at the same time, is looking for other avenues for growth with its Gap and Banana Republic stores struggling. Its low-price Old Navy and athletic-inspired Athleta businesses have been the bright spots.

Items from the Gap’s new home collection, which it will sell through a partnership with Walmart beginning next month.Walmart via AP

Mark Breitbard, CEO of the Gap brand, said the home is a natural extension of the Gap brand. The deal is also part of Gap’s overall strategy of expanding licensing deals to broaden its distribution while the company focuses on its core business.

“It felt like a natural partnership for us to leverage their expertise and their reach and their incredible digital reach as a way to bring new customers into the Gap brand and expand the Gap brand into this new category,” Breitbard told The Associated Press.

Cloud software company Snowflake has become the latest tech firm to leave Silicon Valley, opting instead for offices across the country rather than a single headquarters.

In a filing this week with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the company explained, “We are a Delaware corporation with a globally distributed workforce and no corporate headquarters.”

In reporting first-quarter earnings Wednesday evening, the company’s dateline appeared as “No-Headquarters/BOZEMAN, Mont.”

“For purposes of this report, we have designated our office in Bozeman, Montana as our principal executive office, as that is where our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer are based,” the company said in a filing. Snowflake, formerly headquartered in San Mateo, California, still has a large office in Silicon Valley.

Snowflake designated their headquarters in Bozeman, Montana,Alamy Stock Photo

Its step away from Silicon Valley builds on a trend of major tech companies moving away from the industry’s main hub in the US. 

Palantir previously moved to Colorado and derided Silicon Valley and the values of its residents. Oracle and Hewlett Packard both moved to Texas last year, as did Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk. 

Other Bay Area heavyweights like Dropbox, Twitter and Facebook have offered permanent remote work to most employees.

Critics of the area have cited high costs of living, high taxes and lawmakers that are unfriendly to business. 

Miami Mayor Francis Suarez has tried to cultivate the city into a new tech hub.Getty Images

Politicians in other states, meanwhile, have been working hard to get a piece of Silicon Valley. Miami Mayor Francis Suarez, for example, has made headlines for his efforts to cultivate the city into a new tech hub.

Airbnb said Thursday it would extend a ban on parties in homes listed on its platform through at least the end of summer in an effort to halt the spread of coronavirus infections.

This comes as increasing vaccination rates and easing travel restrictions in parts of the world are expected to boost travel demand in the summer months.

In August of last year, the short-term home rental company placed a global ban on parties at its properties, which it said proved to be popular with its host community.

“We will not tolerate behavior that disrupts neighborhoods or violates the trust of our Host community,” said Airbnb in a statement.

San Francisco-based Airbnb said the event-friendly search filter will remain inaccessible during this period and it expects to provide an update on the policy at the end of summer.

Also, guests without a history of positive reviews on Airbnb cannot book one night reservations for an entire home in the United States during July 4th weekend.