Big Tech giant Google has reportedly threatened to fire any employees who do not comply with the company’s anti-freedom COVID-19 vaccine mandate.
Unvaccinated employees at Google face pay reduction, forced leave, and job loss, according to CNBC, which cited official Google documents. Any employees whose religious or medical exemptions are denied, or who do not file for exemptions, must get the vaccine before Jan. 18, according to CNBC. If not, employees will reportedly have 30 days of “paid administrative leave” and six months of “unpaid administrative leave” before being fired. A Google spokesperson touted the rule as “one of the most important ways we can keep our workforce safe and keep our services running,” as Google looks to require several days a week of in-office work next year, reported CNBC.
Google is relying on a Biden administration order requiring all companies with 100-plus employees to get vaccinated or agree to regular COVID-19 testing, according to CNBC. A federal court has put the order on hold, however, meaning that the deadline of Jan. 18 is not in legal force. Google is requiring its over 150,000 employees to submit proof of COVID-19 vaccination regardless of whether they will be working in person, if their jobs have anything to do even indirectly with federal government contracts, according to CNBC. Interestingly, although Biden’s restrictive executive order would allow the possibility of regular testing as an alternative to vaccination, Google reportedly said that “frequent testing is not a valid alternative to vaccination.” What happened to bodily autonomy and the legal right to make personal medical choices?
Google has provided a potential exception to the vaccine mandate for those whose jobs “fall outside the scope of the executive order” and can be fully virtual, CNBC wrote. Hundreds of Google employees have reportedly already signed a “manifesto” protesting the company’s vaccination requirement.
Google employees will accrue benefits for the first 92 days of their unpaid leave if they choose not to get a COVID-19 vaccine, CNBC wrote. Medical and religious exemption requests will reportedly be evaluated by Google on a case-by-case basis.
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