Sundar Pichai, chief executive officer of Alphabet Inc., gestures as he speaks during a discussion on artificial intelligence at the European economic consultancy Bruegel in Brussels, Belgium, on Monday, January 20, 2020. Pichai called on the United States and the European Union to coordinate their regulatory approaches to artificial intelligence, calling their alignment crucial.
Geert Vanden Wijngaert | Bloomberg | beautiful pictures
Google has told its employees that they will lose their pay — and ultimately be fired — if they don’t comply with the company’s Covid-19 vaccination policy, according to internal documents seen by CNBC.
A management memo said employees must report their immunization status through December 3 and upload supporting documentation or apply for a medical or religious waiver. The company said after that date, it will begin contacting employees who have not posted their status or have not been vaccinated, as well as those whose waiver requests were not approved.
The document says employees who fail to comply with the immunization rules by the January 18 deadline will be subject to “paid administrative leave” for 30 days. The company will then put them on “unpaid personal leave” for up to six months, followed by termination.
A Google spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
As much of the tech industry continues to push back plans to return to work and companies large and small prepare for a flexible future, Google is request Their workforce will eventually arrive at the physical offices three days a week at some point in the new year. And it shows limited patience for those who refuse to get the vaccine, which has been widely available for months.
The Biden administration has ordered US companies with 100 or more workers to make sure their employees are fully vaccinated or regularly tested. Covid-19 before January 18. A federal court issued an upheld order in early November, blocking the administration’s attempt.
However, Google has asked its more than 150,000 employees to upload their immunization status to its internal system, whether or not they plan to go to the office, and the company says it plans to do so. at the behest of Biden.
“We expect that virtually all roles at Google in the US will be within the scope of the executive order,” the Google memo said. “Anyone entering a Google building must be fully vaccinated or have an approved accommodation that allows them to work or visit the site,” the company said, adding that “routine checks are not a valid alternative to vaccination.”
Google and parent company Alphabet have been staunchly supportive of vaccines since the middle of this year.
CEO Sundar Pichai announced in July that the company will request Vaccinations for those returning to the office. At that point, the plan is to reopen in January. But in early December, amid continued concerns about the number of infections, Google tell US staff it won’t ask them to return to the office. However, management encourages employees to keep going “where it’s conditioned to reconnect face-to-face with co-workers and begin to regain muscle memory of being at the office more often.”
The vaccine mandate was not widely accepted by the staff. Hundreds of Google employees signed and circulated a manifesto objected to the company’s requirements, which management said would apply to all employees, even those who work from home, who participate directly or indirectly in government-related contracts. state.
In its latest guidance, Google details several options for people who don’t want to get vaccinated. The company said employees can “discover” if there are any roles at Google that do not conflict with the executive order. They can also request a waiver for religious or medical beliefs, which Google previously said will be provided on a case-by-case basis.
For employees whose roles are not outside the scope of the executive order that can also be performed out of the office, the company says they will be able to “work remotely permanently thereafter.”
The memo says employees who receive unpaid personal leave will be able to keep their benefits for the first 92 days. If after six months they still fail to comply with their mandate, “their work with Google is over.”
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