Google has warned its employees that if they do not fully vaccinate themselves and follow Covid-19 rules as mandated by the US administration, they will lose their jobs and eventually be fired.
Google gave its employees until December 3 to submit proof of vaccination or request approval for a medical or religious exemption.
Anyone who does not do either of these things by January 13 will be placed on a 30-day paid administrative leave, according to an internal memo obtained by CNBC.
“If they’re still not in compliance after the 30 days, they could face unpaid leave for up to six months and then be terminated,” the memo read.
Most US employees will be subject to vaccine requirements as a result of President Joe Biden’s executive order.
By January 18, companies with 100 or more employees must ensure that their employees are fully vaccinated or regularly tested for Covid-19.
On Tuesday, a Google spokesperson told The Verge: “As we’ve stated before, our vaccination requirements are one of the most important ways we can keep our workforce safe and keep our services running. We’re committed to doing everything possible to help our employees who can get vaccinated do so, and firmly stand behind our vaccination policy”.
The tech behemoth has requested that its more than 150,000 employees upload their vaccination status to internal systems.
As the threat of an Omicron variant looms, Google is reconsidering its plans to ask full-time employees to return to work by January 10.
As the pandemic progressed, the company’s return-to-work plans changed several times.
Google announced plans for hybrid return-to-work until January 10, 2022 in August, when the delta variant was a major concern.
