Employers are increasingly losing patience with unvaccinated employees. A growing number of businesses are demanding that their employees be vaccinated against COVID-19, alarmed by the rise of the Delta variant which is more contagious and outraged that vaccination rates in the US have been lowered.
For months, most U.S. employers relied on information campaigns, rewards, and other incentives to encourage their employees to get the COVID-19 vaccine. Now, a growing number are imposing rules to make it harder for employees to refuse the vaccine, some by forcing it while others by requiring the unvaccinated to undergo regular testing.
Among the employers that are getting tougher are the federal government, the California and New York state governments, tech giants Google and Facebook, Walt Disney Co. and the American NFL football federation. Several hospitals, universities, restaurants, bars and other entertainment venues have also begun to require vaccine tests.
But the new measures are unlikely to affect many of the millions of unvaccinated Americans.
Many of the companies that are seeking vaccinations have mostly employees who are already mostly vaccinated and reluctant to work alongside those who are not vaccinated.
In contrast, major companies that rely on low-income workers, food manufacturers, warehouses, supermarkets and other chain stores are shunning measures to make vaccination mandatory for fear of layoffs and worsening shortages. the workforce that such businesses face.
Tyson Foods, for example, said about half of its workforce – 56,000 employees – received the vaccine after the company ran more than 100 vaccination campaigns since February. But the company said it has no plans to impose an obligation to vaccinate the other half of its employees.
Walmart and Amazon, the two largest private employers in the country, have also refused to make vaccination mandatory for their part-time employees. But the Walmart company said employees at its headquarters would be required to be vaccinated by October 4th.
The federal government, the largest employer in the country announced last week that all employees and contractors should be vaccinated or tested weekly and lose privileges such as official travel.
The federal government has said it will cover the costs of weekly tests. As for other employers, health insurance may pay for such tests in some jobs, but not in others.
