Adobe has directed all of its employees in the United States to get COVID-19 vaccine shots. The software company gave its employees until Dec. 8 to comply, or they will be placed on unpaid leave.
Apple is also one of the tech companies tracking the vaccination status of its employees.
Facebook also requires all returning employees to be vaccinated with the new "No Vaccine, No Entry" policy.
Adobe Employees Required to Get Vaccinated
Adobe has cited President Joe Biden's executive order for all federal contractors to have their employees fully vaccinated as the reason behind its vaccine mandate, according to CNBC.
Gloria Chen, Adobe's Chief People Officer, sent an email to its employees. The email stated that 93.5% of employees in the United States who responded to an internal company survey stated that they are already vaccinated.
Adobe would consider religious and medical reasons as exemptions for those who can't get the vaccination, Chen stated.
Earlier this month, IBM also told all of its employees in the United States that they must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 by Dec. 8 or face an unpaid suspension.
The White House recently announced sweeping vaccine requirements in a bid to reduce an increase in COVID-19 hospitalizations and deaths caused by the Delta variant of the coronavirus.
President Biden presented a six-part plan intended to get more people vaccinated in the country, allowing schools to reopen safely, increase COVID-19 testing, improve care for COVID-19 patients, and boost economic recovery.
As part of Biden's plan, he announced a new requirement for federal employees to get a COVID-19 vaccine, with no option for COVID-19 testing.
As part of the plan, the president announced a new requirement for federal employees to get a COVID-19 vaccine, with no option for regular COVID-19 testing.
President Biden also signed an executive order extending the requirements to contractors working with the government, which affected more than 2.1 million employees.
President Biden's new plan also includes directing the Labor Department to require all businesses with 100 or more employees to ensure that the employees are either vaccinated or tested weekly.
Companies could be fined up to thousands of dollars per employee if they refuse to comply.
Vaccine Mandates Could Cost Millions
The United States is moving fast to implement sweeping mandates that will require employers to verify their employee's COVID-19 vaccine status or ensure that they are undergoing weekly testing, but it could end up costing them millions of dollars, according to Fortune.
In September, President Biden called on the Occupational Safety and Health Administration or OSHA to issue a temporary emergency standard that would require private companies with at least 100 employees to put vaccine mandates in place.
President Biden's directive stipulated that, unlike federal employees and contractors, private companies could also give weekly testing options. The mandate is expected to affect 80 million Americans.
OSHA can fine companies up to $13,600 per employee violation, but it may not have the resources to enforce the new mandate.
The agency has more than 800 inspectors to cover 100,000 employers set to be affected by the new requirements, according to Reuters.
The cost at play range from testing, paid time off, verification tracking, and the time needed from HR teams and business leaders to organize and manage the mandates.
Related Article: Google Pay: Save Digital Vaccine Cards on Android, Show it to Local Establishments With API
This article is owned by Tech Times
Written by Sophie Webster
