Intel has notified all of its employees that if they are not vaccinated, they will need to receive the COVID-19 vaccine by January 4. Otherwise, they will be given unpaid leave, according to The Associated Press and The Oregonian.

In a December 7 note, Intel’s head of human resources, Kristi Pampianki, said unvaccinated employees would need to apply for a waiver or take weekly tests, even if they were working from home. Intel has also reportedly told its employees that the company will review the medical and religious exemptions by March 15 of next year. The company initially set a January 4 vaccination deadline last month, but did not specify what would happen to its unvaccinated employees if they did not comply with the rules.

If the employee is not granted the exemption, he will be given at least three months of unpaid leave from April 4 and “will not be terminated,” Bambiaki says. It also mentioned that Intel will continue to offer health benefits to those on vacation.

Intel’s vaccine requirements are set to fulfill President Joe Biden’s mandate to vaccine for companies with more than 100 employees. However, federal courts are still debating whether such a blanket mandate is constitutional. “We are closely monitoring the legal environment and hope that it will take some time for the case as well as other similar cases to be fully resolved,” Intel said in a statement.

the Google has also started cracking down on unvaccinated employeesIt is claimed that they will be given 30 days of administrative leave if they have not been vaccinated or made an exception by January 13. If they are not vaccinated after 30 days, they may be subject to unpaid leave and even dismissal, unlike Intel.

Both Facebook and Microsoft are also enforcing vaccination guidelines, requiring employees to be vaccinated before reopening their offices, which has been delayed until 2022 for both companies.

source: Apnews