Not Playing, CITI Will Fire Unvaccinated Employees!

Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia – Citigroup Inc United States of America asks its employees to take unpaid leave when they have not vaccinated against Covid-19 until January 14, 2022. Not only that, Citigroup has even threatened to fire its employees if the permanent employees have not vaccinated at the end of January.

The policy is based on enactment of vaccination rules in October by the Bank of the United States. Reported from Reuters on Saturday (08/01/2022), the move was taken when the financial industry plans to bring workers back to the office safely as before the Omicron variant. the first Wall Street bank to enforce a vaccination policy. So far, more than 90% of Citigroup employees have complied with these regulations.

Citigroup management acknowledges that they will consider exemptions from vaccination for religious, medical, or other accommodation reasons by state law. part or local, on a case-by-case basis. Citigroup also said it complies with US President Joe Biden’s administration policy of requiring all supportive workers to be fully vaccinated.

“You are welcome to apply for other roles at Citi in the future, as long as you comply with Citi’s vaccination policies. If you are not vaccinated, we urge you to get vaccinated as soon as possible,” the Citigroup memo reads, quoted by Reuters, Saturday (08/01/2022).

In addition to Citigroup, other major Wall Street banks, including Goldman Sachs & Co., Morgan Stanley and JPMorgan Chase & Co. have also told some of their unvaccinated employees to work from home, but none have come to the point of threatening layoffs.

It is recognized that vaccination has become a thorny issue in the United States, as it is in many countries around the world, with some vehemently opposed and the rest critical of the mandate imposed by the pe government and employers.

The US Supreme Court accepted requests by state officials and employers’ groups to block Biden’s mandate of companies with more than 100 workers requiring their employees to be vaccinated.

Meanwhile, Columbia Business School professor Adam Galinsky, who advises companies on back-to-office strategies, said many companies initially welcomed the White House vaccine mandate.

“However, the company acknowledges that Biden’s mandate may not apply to the conservative Supreme Court. If they don’t stick around, they will get the decision back in their hands and have to do something about it,” he said. , but has so far avoided a vaccine mandate for legal reasons.

Partners at Rumberger law firm Kirk Chase Hattaway said it would be a challenging and complex policy to implement.

“Citi will have to adapt its policies to state laws, and in many cases, cities and municipalities will have different regulations as well, which may require further refinement,” said Hattaway.

In addition, Partner at law firm Hall Booth Smith Jacqueline Voronov said that the courts had upheld the right of private companies to mandate vaccines.

“Private companies are allowed to mandate their own policies. And if Citi wants to have a mandatory vaccination policy, they can do it,” he said.

United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby said last month it fired 200 of its 67,000 employees for failing to comply with vaccination mandates. Many hospitals had fired staff for failing to comply with the mandate, which has been applied to the healthcare industry in more than 20 states.

(wia)