In a recently released memo, T-Mobile US declared that all corporate employees who are not fully vaccinated will face imminent termination. Unvaccinated employees currently have until April 2 to acquire proof of being fully vaccinated against COVID.
The internal memo, which was obtained by Bloomberg, was sent by Deeanne King, the head of human resources at the company. In the email, King noted that employees who have not received the first dose of the vaccine by February 21 will be put on unpaid leave.
“Affected employees who do not become fully vaccinated and obtain a Magenta [internal digital] Pass by April 2 will be separated from [their employment at] T-Mobile,” King asserted.
King also declared that employees at T-Mobile customer service centers will also face requirements for showing proof of COVID vaccination; however, customer service employees will not face unpaid leave in order to avoid negatively impacting the “customer experience.”
In addition, the company also informed its employees that all T-Mobile representatives are expected to return to working on-site full-time, or at minimum, in a hybrid setup, by April 2.
While corporate employees face the strictest vaccine requirements, in-store retail employees and field technicians will not have to adhere to the vaccine requirements in most cases.
King acknowledged that receiving the vaccine is “a deeply personal decision,” and the company hopes for all impacted employees to receive the vaccine “and return to their workplace,” though T-Mobile understands that option may not occur “for some.”
The head of human resources claims that T-Mobile will honor vaccine exemptions for religious and medical reasons.
Interestingly, T-Mobile’s policy regarding vaccine mandates emerges in the wake of the Supreme Court’s rejection of the invasive OSHA vaccine mandate proclaimed by the Biden administration. In a controversial ruling, the Court blocked the OSHA mandate, which had required companies with 100 or more employees to ensure a fully vaccinated staff.
Nonetheless, large companies have continued to implement vaccine requirements regardless. Aside from T-Mobile, several Big Tech companies have implemented vaccine mandates, including Apple, Meta, Intel, and Google.