TOPLINE
Google amended its Covid-19 vaccine mandate to include all remote employees who work with the federal government “directly or indirectly,” a policy driven by federal rules, sparking backlash from some company staff, according to internal emails reviewed by CNBC.
KEY FACTS
Google is requiring its employees to report their Covid-19 vaccination status by December 3, and will require staff who work with government contracts to get vaccinated even if they work remotely, the company told its employees in a memo last month obtained by CNBC.
Google first said in July that all employees returning to a physical office must be vaccinated, but CNBC’s Tuesday report is the first indication that any remote employees would be included in the mandate.
In response to the updated vaccination guidelines, CNBC reports at least 600 Google employees — representing 0.4% of the roughly 140,000 people working at Google — signed a memo opposing the current vaccine mandate.
Google did not immediately respond to Forbes’ request for comment.
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TANGENT
Google’s workforce has remained mostly remote since the beginning of the pandemic, though many employees will be expected to return to the office beginning in January.
KEY BACKGROUND
Google’s new policies are largely in response to a pair of federal vaccine mandates. President Joe Biden is requiring all federal contractors — including people who work from home — to be vaccinated by January. The federal government also hopes to enforce a broader mandate that would compel all private businesses with 100 or more employees to require in-person staff to either get vaccinated or get tested weekly by January, though a federal appeals court has temporarily halted that policy.
BIG NUMBER
82.2%. That’s the proportion of American adults who are at least partially vaccinated against Covid-19, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data.
FURTHER READING
Several hundred Google employees sign manifesto against widened vaccine mandate (CNBC)
Biden Asks Appeals Court To Reinstate Employer Vaccine-Or-Test Mandate—Here’s What Could Happen Next (Forbes)
By Derek Saul, Forbes Staff
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