September 3, 2021 – The Delta variant has proved to be yet another disruptive agent for companies that are trying to get people back to work in the office. After the vaccine rollout earlier this year, it seemed as if we were getting better control of the pandemic. The Delta variant and public mistrust of the vaccines seems to be two parts of a greater cocktail, leaving companies with the difficult decision of whether to enforce vaccine mandate, a mask mandate, a testing mandate, or all of the above.
Companies enforcing a vaccine mandate
Vaccination mandates aren’t an easy call to make. While the effectiveness of the vaccine has been verified by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration, the vaccines themselves are still relatively divisive among the general public. Public and private companies both have the right to make the best call for business and company culture. This certainly isn’t an exhaustive list, but these are some of the top companies that are instituting a vaccine mandate for employees.
- Goldman Sachs is requiring employees to be fully vaccinated to the office in the United States starting September 7.
- Bank of America is only allowing employees back into the office if they are fully vaccinated.
- Microsoft is requiring proof of vaccination for all employees, vendors and guests to enter offices. As of right now, they are not opening U.S. offices until October 4.
- Uber is requiring vaccines for the office-based employees, but not for drivers.
- Comcast is requiring vaccinations for all employees to return to the office.
- The New York Times is requiring vaccinations for all employees coming into the office and participating in business-related travel.
- The Washington Post is requiring COVID-19 vaccinations as a condition of employment.
- CVS is requiring all pharmacists to be vaccinated by November 30, and all corporate staff will need to be vaccinated by October 31.
- Pfizer is requiring all employees and contractors to either be fully vaccinated or take weekly COVID tests.
- Ford Motor is requiring all U.S. employees to be vaccinated before international business travel and encouraging all other employees to be vaccinated.
- United Airlines will require all United States-based employees to get the COVID-19 vaccine.
- While Delta Airlines isn’t requiring employees to be vaccinated, the unvaccinated employees will be subject to a monthly $200 fine as an insurance surcharge.