Citigroup Inc. was the first major bank on Wall Street to impose a strict Covid-19 vaccine mandate: get a shot or resign. With the deadline fast approaching, the company is gearing up for action.
Office workers who fail to abide by the rules on Jan. 14 will be placed on unpaid leave and their last day of work will come at the end of the month, according to a staff report seen by Bloomberg. While some employees qualify for certain year-end bonuses, they must sign an agreement that they will not take legal action against the company to receive the money, the company said in the release.
“You are welcome to apply for other positions at Citi in the future, as long as you adhere to Citi’s vaccination policies,” the company said in the memo.
More than 90% of Citigroup employees have adhered to the U.S. employee rule, which also allows employees to apply for religious or medical exemptions, according to people familiar with the case who asked not to be named mentioned when discussing private information. While that number continues to rise rapidly, the company faces changing local laws and faces public backlash from a handful of employees — a reflection of the vaccine divide that is unfolding across the country.
A spokeswoman for New York-based Citigroup confirmed that more than 90% of the company’s employees have adhered to the rule and the number is rising rapidly, but declined to comment further.
As the omicron variant debates U.S. return-to-office plans and workplace vaccine requirements in court, Citigroup’s bid to demand shots from about 70,000 employees is worth watching, as the rules are the strictest among them yet. large financial companies, an industry that likes to return workers to their premises. While rivals such as Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and JPMorgan Chase & Co. have certain vaccine requirements, their policies allow employees to avoid getting the chance if they don’t come to the office.
Vaccination mandates have become a fraught issue for employers, from hospital operators to police forces and businesses, leading to lawsuits and resistance from some workers – although there has been widespread compliance in the end. The US Supreme Court will hear arguments Friday over an order from the Biden administration for major employers to demand vaccinations or weekly Covid tests, meaning more mandates could come if the rules go through.
Companies are rapidly finalizing their plans to comply, said Melanie Paul, equity principal and co-leader of the occupational safety and health practice group at law firm Jackson Lewis. Most employers have chosen to voluntarily make vaccines and ramp up testing and mask policies, she said.
“It’s extremely taxing on employers,” Paul said, pointing out the challenges in getting tests and keeping up with the data. “Because of these burdens, there are many employers who are simply waiting to see what the Supreme Court does before going ahead and rolling out their plans.”
Citigroup’s move to demand direct shots is particularly complex because the company’s presence extends to so many corners of the country — from bankers in Manhattan to tellers at hundreds of local branches to back office workers at locations in Florida, Texas, Missouri and Kentucky.
The geographical differences mean that we have to deal with a range of rules and political positions. In New York City, workers are subject to a broad mandate from the private sector. But in areas like Florida and Texas, governors have actively spoken out against mandating vaccinations.
Contractor order
When Citigroup first announced the mandate for all U.S. employees in late October, the lender quoted an executive order from President Joe Biden that required all individuals who support government contracts, as well as anyone who works in the same offices as those employees, be fully vaccinated. Although that order has since faced legal difficulties, the bank has pushed through with its directive.
While office workers have a January 14 deadline, branch workers were given a different timeline, although they also have to meet in the end. To increase adoption, the bank has taken steps including bringing in medical experts to train staff, holding town halls with HR leaders and handing out prizes for vaccinated workers. It also offered paid leave to people who got the photo.
The mandate reverberated across the company: A LinkedIn message from an executive outlining the policy garnered nearly 700 responses. Some employees welcomed the company’s decision, calling it a step forward or thanking Citigroup for protecting them and their families. But others expressed concern, arguing that this robbed them of liberties or violated their privacy.
“I’ve been sitting at home for two years now, I rarely go to the office, my direct reports are states away — this felt like a huge oversight,” said George Pagano, who spent five years in Citigroup’s operations and technology division. before departure in November because of the mandate. “When it comes to promoting the company at the expense of having to threaten to fire people the week after Christmas, it just seemed a bit too much to me.”
In private chat rooms, employees have exchanged strategies for getting waivers, according to interviews with current and former employees. Others were more public: Ben Shittu, who works in the technology division of Citigroup’s human resources division in Ireland, made a YouTube video criticizing the mandate.
“I have been forced to make this video in direct response to the enforcement of a vaccine mandate and possible terminations of core team members and US-based employees within Citigroup,” Shittu said in the video. “For those of you who are very concerned or feel that your managers have let you down, I want you to know that you are not alone.”
Shittu said in a LinkedIn message that he has been contacted by dozens of Citigroup employees in the US since the video was posted. It has been viewed more than 9,400 times.
Vaccine Acceptance
Evidence is mounting that vaccine rules have not led to major staff shortages. Just 3% of employers with mandates in a November survey by Willis Towers Watson said they had a spike in layoffs. United Airlines Holdings Inc. and Tyson Foods Inc., two of the first major companies to impose similar regulations, reported 99% and 96% compliance near their deadlines.
In New York, unions representing police officers warned that a city mandate would take thousands of officers off the streets. When the deadline passed, less than three dozen were placed on furlough.
However, employers now face one additional complication: the rapid spread of the omicron variant. Breakthrough infections have skyrocketed, making a mandate less palatable to those workers already hesitant to get the jab.
It also has consequences for deadlines at companies such as Citigroup. If employees have tested positive for the disease and received certain therapies in the past few weeks, they must wait 90 days before getting vaccinated under the guidance of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“With omicron, everyone gets it, even people who have been vaccinated and boosted,” said Paul. “That’s also now a consideration that employers are thinking about when determining whether they should have a mandatory vaccination policy.”
(This story was not edited by DailyExpertNews staff and was generated automatically from a syndicated feed.)