Google employees may lose pay, get fired for not complying with vaccination rules: Report

According to internal papers obtained by CNBC, Google has informed its employees that they may forfeit pay if they do not comply with its Covid-19 immunisation policy. According to a message sent by leadership, employees had until December 3 to disclose their vaccination status, submit evidence of immunisation, or request a medical or religious exemption.  Following that date, the company stated that it will begin contacting workers who had not declared their status or who were unvaccinated, as well as those whose exemption requests had been refused. Employees who do not comply with the immunisation standards by the January 18 deadline will be placed on "paid administrative leave" for 30 days, according to sources. Following that, they will be placed on "unpaid personal leave" for up to six months, followed by firing.

A Google spokesman told The Verge that vaccination requirements are one of the most important ways to keep our staff safe and our services running. While other IT sectors continue to postpone return-to-work plans and businesses of all sizes prepare for a more flexible future, Google has urged its employees to come into physical offices thrice a week.

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The Biden administration has instructed all U.S. firms with 100 or more employees to ensure that their personnel have been fully vaccinated or are being tested for Covid-19 regularly by January 18. In early November, a federal court issued a stay of execution, effectively suspending the administration's efforts. Nonetheless, Google has demanded that its more than 150,000 workers upload their vaccination status to its internal systems, regardless of whether they plan to come into the office or not, and the company has declared that it would comply with Biden's request.

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Google delayed its return-to-work plan indefinitely earlier this month owing to Omicron variant concerns and some employee aversion to company-mandated immunisations. It was initially planned that employees would return to work for about three days each week, commencing January 10. Employees have not universally accepted the mandated vaccinations. Several hundred Google employees signed and shared a manifesto protesting the company's rules, which the company's leadership stated would apply to all employees, including those working from home, who deal directly or indirectly with federal government contracts.

• Google
• vaccine
• COVID
• work from home