Hundreds of Google employees respond to vaccine mandate
Hundreds of Google employees are opposing the company’s extensive Covid-19 vaccine mandate, complicating its efforts to move back to in-office work.
A manifesto blasting the mandate has been signed by more than 600 employees, according to CNBC. In the document, the workers demand the tech firm present an alternate mandate that is “inclusive of all Googlers.” They are also urging their colleagues to oppose getting vaccines out of “principle” in the face of looming deadlines.
While a US federal mandate for employers is currently tied up in litigation, Google has taken President Joe Biden’s advice on board and is implementing the requirement anyway. The company asked over 150,000 employees in the US to upload their vaccination status to an internal system by December 3, while any medical or religious exemptions must be filed earlier.
Google requires any employees who will work directly or indirectly with government contracts to get jabbed, whether they work remotely or not. Much of the tech company’s staff was moved to remote working during the coronavirus pandemic, and officials within the company now say the vaccine efforts are an attempt to “enable a safe return” to its offices. In a statement responding to criticism of the mandate, the company showed no signs of budging, saying, “we firmly stand” behind the vaccine policy.
Starting in January, Google employees are expected to be working in-person at their offices at least part-time each week.
According to the manifesto, Google’s mandate goes too far in including employees who work remotely. In an email sent to employees, Chris Rackow, the company’s vice president of global security, reportedly said regular testing would not be a sufficient alternative to jabs for these employees.
The manifesto writers also argued that Google could be encouraging discrimination, as not being vaccinated would be one of the few reasons to be barred from the company’s workspaces.
“It justifies the principle of division and unequal treatment of Googlers based on their personal beliefs and decisions,” the manifesto reads. “The implications are chilling.”
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