A growing number of major companies nationwide will require employees to get vaccinated against COVID-19 before returning to in-office work, with some companies citing concerns over the highly-transmissible delta strain as reason for the new mandate.
Coronavirus infections, hospitalizations and deaths are on the rise again, predominantly among the unvaccinated, mostly fueled by the more contagious delta variant.
According to data through July 30 from Johns Hopkins University, the seven-day rolling average for daily new cases in the U.S. rose from 30,887 on July 16 to 77,827 on July 30. The seven-day rolling average for the country’s daily new deaths rose over the same period from 253 on July 16 to 358 on July 30, though death reports generally lag weeks after infections and even longer after hospitalizations.
Until recently, the push for vaccine mandates was largely piecemeal in the corporate world, with many companies opting to offer incentives for vaccination instead of making it a requirement.
Some companies, like Delta and United airlines, are requiring new employees to show proof of vaccination. Goldman Sachs is requiring its employees to disclose their vaccination status, but is not requiring staffers to be vaccinated.
But calls for vaccine mandates — both in the corporate world and beyond — have gained increasing momentum amid the uptick in COVID infections nationwide. On Thursday, President Joe Biden announced that all federal employees must also provide proof of vaccination against COVID-19 or face regular testing and strict masking, social distancing, and travel restrictions.
Here are some companies requiring employees get vaccinated against COVID-19:
DoorDash
DoorDash will require all corporate employees be vaccinated against COVID-19, a spokesperson confirmed to Spectrum News on Thursday.
The company is currently operating under a work-from-home policy, with select offices in the U.S. open for those who choose to go in. DoorDash will transition to a hybrid work model for corporate employees next January, with only 5% of the total workforce expected to work in an office every day, per a blog post shared last week
“In June 2021, we internally announced that where permissible by local law, any corporate employee voluntarily returning to one of our U.S. corporate offices in 2021 must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19,” the spokesperson said in an email. “We haven’t issued any official vaccination requirements for Dashers, given they’re not employees.”
Facebook will require all employees at U.S.-based offices to get vaccinated before returning to work, the company’s vice president of people, Lori Goler, announced in a statement on Wednesday.
“How we implement this policy will depend on local conditions and regulations,” Goler added. “We will have a process for those who cannot be vaccinated for medical or other reasons and will be evaluating our approach in other regions as the situation evolves. We continue to work with experts to ensure our return to office plans prioritize everyone’s health and safety.”
Hours before Facebook’s announcement, CEO of Google and Alphabet Sundar Pichai penned a blog post similarly saying all employees would be required to be vaccinated against COVID-19 before returning to the office. The policy will be rolled out in the U.S. in the coming weeks, and will expand to other regions in the months to follow.
“The implementation will vary according to local conditions and regulations, and will not apply until vaccines are widely available in your area,” Pichai wrote in part.
The company also announced it would be extending its optional work-from-home policy through at least Oct. 18, pushed back from a previously-proposed return-to-office date in mid September. Pichai noted that many employees are “seeing spikes in their communities caused by the Delta variant and are concerned about returning to the office.”
“This extension will allow us time to ramp back into work while providing flexibility for those who need it,” Pichai added. “We’ll continue watching the data carefully and let you know at least 30 days in advance before transitioning into our full return to office plans.”
Lyft
Popular ride-sharing service Lyft will require corporate employees to provide proof of vaccination before returning to the office, a spokesperson confirmed in an email to Spectrum News.
Lyft “informed team members several weeks ago that they will be required to submit proof of vaccination in order to return to the office,” the spokesperson wrote in part, adding: “We have a process in place to handle accommodations and exemptions for team members who have medical, religious or other personal reasons for not receiving the vaccine.”
According to Lyft’s website, the company is not mandating a COVID-19 vaccine for drivers or riders, but is “encouraging” them to do so.
The company also pushed back its in-office reopening date by six months to Feb. 2022.
MGM Resorts International – Las Vegas
MGM Resorts International employees in Las Vegas will be required to get a COVID-19 or pay for routine testing in order to go to work, according to multiple local news outlets.
Unvaccinated employees will be required to pay $15 for an on-site COVID-19 test, or can show proof of a negative FDA-approved, molecular PCR test from an offsite testing location. Results from antigen or home-testing kits will not be accepted.
Employees who are vaccinated can upload their vaccine card to the MyMGM app in order to receive a verification sticker needed for in-office work.
“As of July 26, Covid-19 testing will transition to an ongoing cadence and any Las Vegas employee who is not designated in Workday as ‘Home Office’ for their location and does not have a vaccine verification sticker will be required to participate,” an MGM spokesperson told 8 News Now.
Microsoft
Microsoft will reportedly soon require all employees, vendors and guests entering U.S. campuses be vaccinated against COVID-19.
“As we have done since the beginning of the pandemic, we continue to closely track new developments and adapt our plans as this situation evolves, keeping employee health and safety top of mind,” the company said in a statement obtained by CNN.
Individuals will be asked to show proof of vaccination starting in September, although the company also recently pushed back its office reopening date from Sept. 7 to no earlier than Oct. 4.
Spectrum News has reached out to Microsoft for comment.
Sundance Film Festival
Anyone looking to go to the Sundance Film Festival in Utah next year is going to need more than a badge. All participants must be fully vaccinated too, festival director Tabitha Jackson said Tuesday.
The 2022 Festival is requiring people attending the festival or Sundance-affiliated events to have received the COVID-19 vaccine. That means everyone from volunteers to filmmakers and passholders. More details will follow in the coming months.
Following the largely virtual Sundance earlier this year, organizers are planning to hold in-person events in 2022 with screenings in Park City and Salt Lake City, Utah, as well as some “satellite” screenings at regional theaters throughout the U.S.
The 2022 Festival is set for Jan. 20-30.
Twitter was, for several months, the leading tech company requiring vaccines for those employees going back into the office.
The company announced back in May that it would extend its optional work-from-home policy indefinitely, and employees who chose to go back into the office would be required to present proof of a COVID-19 vaccine.
That requirement was rendered largely moot on Wednesday, when the company said it would be closing its New York and San Francisco offices just two weeks after reopening them, and will pause all planned reopenings for the time being.
Earlier this week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced updated guidelines saying even fully vaccinated people should return to wearing masks indoors if they live in areas with high rates of virus transmission. The CDC currently ranks New York as having a substantial rate of community spread, and San Francisco as having high levels of community transmission.
Tyson Foods
Tyson Foods, one of the largest meat purveyors in the United States, will require all of its 120,000-plus employees to get a COVID-19 vaccine, the company announced Tuesday.
Reports of Tyson’s move were first published in the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal.
While negotiations with various unions are ongoing, the company aims to have all office workers vaccinated by Oct.1; all other U.S. employees have until Nov. 1 to get their jabs. The company will offer $200 to frontline workers who can prove they are vaccinated.
“Getting vaccinated against COVID-19 is the single most effective thing we can do to protect our team members, their families and their communities,” Dr. Claudia Coplein, Tyson Foods’ Chief Medical Officer, wrote in a statement. “With rapidly rising COVID-19 case counts of contagious, dangerous variants leading to increasing rates of severe illness and hospitalization among the U.S. unvaccinated population, this is the right time to take the next step to ensure a fully vaccinated workforce.”
The move makes Tyson the largest domestic food company to mandate COVID-19 vaccinations for its entire workforce, nearly half of whom have already completed their full COVID-19 vaccine regiment.
The Walt Disney Company
The Walt Disney Company said in a statement Friday that it will be requiring all salaried and non-union hourly employees in the U.S. who work on site to be fully vaccinated.
Employees who aren’t already vaccinated will have 60 days to do so and that those still working from home will need to show proof of vaccination before returning. Disney said it was discussing the vaccine requirements with the union, and added that all new hires will be required to be fully vaccinated before starting work at the company.
“Vaccines are the best tool we all have to help control this global pandemic and protect our employees,” the statement said.
Walmart
Walmart is requiring that all workers at its headquarters as well as its managers who travel within the U.S. be vaccinated against COVID-19 by Oct. 4.
The retailer based in Bentonville, Arkansas, is also reversing its mask policy for its employees working in stores, clubs, distribution facilities and warehouses. Going forward, they will be required to wear masks in areas with high infection rates, even if they have been vaccinated.
The moves are part of a series of sweeping measures the nation’s largest retailer and private employer announced last Friday to help curb the spread of the virus and drive more of its workers to get the shot in the arm.
The vaccine mandate excludes frontline workers, who the company says have a lower vaccination rate than management. But it’s hoping that managerial employees, who represent just a fraction of its 1.5 million workers, will serve as inspiration.
“We’re hoping that will influence even more of our frontline associates to become vaccinated,” Walmart spokesman Scott Pope said.
NOTE: This is a developing story and will be updated with future announcements.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
