As the highly contagious delta variant of the coronavirus continues to strike communities nationwide, companies are stepping up their vaccine requirements, mandating that some or all employees get vaccinated or provide proof of vaccination.
After the Food and Drug Administration granted full approval to Pfizer’s Covid vaccine on Monday, more companies are expected to mandate that employees be vaccinated.
Here is a list of the companies who have already announced their vaccination plans:
Amtrak
The railroad service is requiring all of its 17,500 employees to be fully vaccinated by Nov. 1 or submit to weekly Covid testing, CEO Bill Flynn wrote in a note to employees. Starting Oct. 4, all new hires will also be required to get vaccinated against the virus. “COVID-19 vaccines are safe, effective and lifesaving,” Flynn wrote. “They are proving effective against the current surge of variants, especially at preventing severe disease, hospitalization and death. Vaccines are a critical tool to bring the pandemic under control.”
Anthem
Employees must be fully vaccinated to enter offices that are open, including the health care insurance company’s headquarters in Indianapolis and its office in Atlanta, according to Anthem spokesperson Michelle Vanstory.
BlackRock
Since July 1, only vaccinated employees and visitors to the investment giant have been allowed to return to the office, according to a company memo obtained by NBC News. All U.S.-based employees, regardless of any plans to voluntarily return, were required to report their vaccination status by June 30.
Cisco
The tech and telecoms conglomerate is only allowing vaccinated “critical workers” to come in to the office, and is pursuing a fully hybrid approach. “Whether that means you work five days a week at home and gather with your team for activities and connection every once in a while, or you are in the office five days a week … every Cisco employee will be hybrid,” Francine Katsoudas, executive vice president and chief people, policy and purpose officer, wrote in a memo to employees last week.
Citigroup
Citing the delta variant, the bank announced on Aug. 11 that employees will need to get vaccinated before returning to its offices, according to a LinkedIn post from Sara Wechter, the bank’s head of human resources.
Employees at offices in the New York area, Chicago, Boston, Washington, D.C., and Philadelphia, “will be expected to return at least two days a week and vaccination is required” starting Sept. 13, Wechter said.
CVS Health
CVS said Aug. 23 it is requiring patient-facing and corporate employees to get their shot by Oct. 31, and new hires by Sept. 15. Although the health care giant is asking its pharmacists in retail stores to be fully vaccinated by Nov. 30, it did not mention the same for retail associates, adding that “Other roles at CVS Health are under review and may be added based on updated data and public health guidance.”
Deloitte
The professional services firm is requiring employees who enter its facilities to be fully vaccinated by Oct. 11.
Delta Air Lines
The airline announced in May it would be requiring all new U.S. hires to be vaccinated against the coronavirus effective May 17. “This is an important move to protect Delta’s people and customers, ensuring the airline can safely operate as demand returns and as it accelerates through recovery and into the future,” the company wrote, adding that it would not be “putting in place a company-wide mandate to require current employees to be vaccinated.”
DoorDash
Although the food delivery service’s corporate employees are not required to come back in to the office until January, those who voluntarily do so before then must show proof of vaccination, the company said.
Equinox
SoulCycle-owner and luxury fitness company Equinox announced Aug. 2 it will begin requiring members, riders and employees to provide a one-time proof of vaccination to enter its facilities and offices starting in New York City in September. “We have a responsibility to take bold action and respond to changing circumstances with urgency. We encourage other leading brands to join us in this effort to best protect our communities,” said Equinox Group Executive Chairman Harvey Spevak in a press release.
The social media giant announced Aug. 12 it is pushing back its return to the office until January 2022, citing ongoing concerns with the delta variant.
“Data, not dates, is what drives our approach for returning to the office,” the company said in a statement. “Given the recent health data showing rising Covid cases based on the delta variant, our teams in the U.S. will not be required to go back to the office until January 2022. We expect this to be the case for some countries outside of the US, as well.”
“As our offices reopen, we will be requiring anyone coming to work at any of our U.S. campuses to be vaccinated,” said Lori Goler, vice president, people, in an emailed statement to NBC News last week, prior to Thursday’s announcement. “How we implement this policy will depend on local conditions and regulations. We will have a process for those who cannot be vaccinated for medical or other reasons and will be evaluating our approach in other regions as the situation evolves.”
Ford
Car manufacturing titan Ford is requiring employees who partake in international business travel to be vaccinated, the company said in an emailed statement. It also said it is continuing “to strongly encourage all team members who are medically able to be vaccinated.”
The United Auto Workers labor union said Aug. 3 it would be reinstating a mask mandate at all of its facilities nationwide.
Goldman Sachs
Starting Sept. 7, the investment bank is requiring all individuals who enter its offices, including clients and visitors, to be fully vaccinated against the coronavirus. Fully vaccinated employees will also be required to wear masks in certain areas and undergo weekly testing. Employees who do not get their shot by the September deadline will be expected to continue working from home.
On July 28, Google became the first major tech company to announce a vaccine mandate for its employees looking to return to the office later this fall. “Anyone coming to work on our campuses will need to be vaccinated. We’re rolling this policy out in the U.S. in the coming weeks and will expand to other regions in the coming months,” Google CEO Sundar Pichai wrote in a memo. Pichai also announced that the company is pushing its return-to-office date back to October.
Jefferies
Financial giant Jefferies will only allow vaccinated individuals into its offices and to outside company events, according to a memo from CEO Rich Handler and President Brian Friedman. “We require that, after Labor Day, anyone who is not fully vaccinated should continue to work from home, which fortunately has proven to be highly effective. We will closely monitor the situation and be ready to pivot and adapt whenever needed,” the two leaders wrote in their joint letter.
Lyft
Starting Aug. 2, corporate employees will be required to show proof of vaccination in order to enter offices, according to an internal note obtained by NBC News. “For those who choose to continue working from our offices — which will remain open — our current safety guidance remains in place, including our existing mask requirement and vaccine requirement going into effect August 2,” said CEO and co-founder Logan Green. Green also announced that the company is delaying its full return to the office by six months, until February.
MGM Resorts International
Hospitality chain MGM Resorts International asked salaried employees who are not exclusively working from home to get vaccinated by Oct. 15. All new hires who are not exclusively working from home must also get a shot, starting Aug. 30, according to an internal memo from CEO and president Bill Hornbuckle. Unvaccinated employees at the chain’s Las Vegas properties will continue to be subject to regular testing and required to pay either a $15 co-pay for on-site or obtain a test from elsewhere and report the results.
Microsoft
The tech company announced Aug. 3 it will require proof of vaccination for all employees, vendors and guests starting in September, adding that it is delaying the full opening for its U.S. offices from next month to Oct. 4. The company did not say in its emailed statement whether the new vaccination policy includes employees who have voluntarily been going into the office since the spring or those working at its retail stores.
Morgan Stanley
Only vaccinated employees are allowed in New York-area offices at this time.
NBCUniversal
NBCUniversal is requiring U.S.-based workers returning to the office later this fall to be fully vaccinated, executive vice president Adam Miller told employees in an email on Aug. 11. Employees will also be required to provide details about their vaccination status. Miller also announced that the company is pushing back its broader office reopening from Sept. 13 to Oct. 18.
Netflix
The streaming service will be requiring vaccinations for casts of all U.S. productions, as well as the individuals who work with them on set, the company confirmed to NBC News.
The New York Times
The New York Times Company CEO Meredith Kopit Levien told staff members via email that it will be requiring proof of vaccination for those who want to go into the office voluntarily. Levien also told employees that the publication would be pushing back its full office return from Sept. 7, without announcing a new set date.
Saks
The fashion company said it is asking employees to get the vaccine before returning to the office this fall. “If we’re asking people to come back, we have to make the environment as safe as we possibly can,” CEO Marc Metrick told The New York Times in May.
Salesforce
The customer-service software giant has only allowed vaccinated employees back to its offices as of May. All employees have the option to work from home until the end of the year.
TJX
The parent company of off-price retailers like HomeGoods, Marshalls and T.J. Maxx is requiring its U.S. “Home and Regional Office Associates” to be fully vaccinated by Nov. 1 and “will provide accommodations for those who cannot get vaccinated due to qualified medical or religious reasons.” It is unclear whether the mandate includes employees at the company’s retail stores.
The social media giant required employees to be vaccinated and show proof of vaccination before voluntarily returning to the company’s San Francisco and New York offices, both of which reclosed last week. In May 2020, Twitter said employees could work from home for as long as they want.
Tyson Foods
The meat and poultry producer announced on Aug. 3 that it is requiring its U.S. corporate workforce to be vaccinated by Oct. 1 and all other employees by Nov. 1, making it the largest U.S. food company to implement this kind of mandate. CEO Donnie King told employees that the company will also provide $200 to frontline team members who get the shot.
Uber
In an internal note obtained by NBC News, CEO Dara Khosrowshahi told employees that starting Aug. 2, they will now be required to be fully vaccinated in order to return to the office. “If you are not vaccinated, you’ll need to work from home until you are fully vaccinated,” he wrote. Khosrowshahi also shared the company’s new return to office date: Oct. 25, 2021. “It’s important to say that this date is a global target, and local circumstances will continue to dictate when it makes sense to bring employees back in a given city,” he wrote.
Union Square Hospitality Group
Union Square Hospitality Group, which operates restaurants in New York City and Washington, D.C., will require vaccinations for staff members and guests. “Beginning the day after Labor Day, we are going to require that 100 percent of our staff members be vaccinated and that any guest who wants to dine indoors will be vaccinated as well,” founder and CEO Danny Meyer told NBC News.
United Airlines
The air carrier is requiring all U.S.-based employees to get vaccinated — and provide proof of their vaccination — either five weeks after federal approval or by Oct. 25, whichever comes first, the company announced in a note to employees on Aug. 6. United previously only required the shot for new hires and is now the first major U.S. airline to implement a blanket policy for all employees. United CEO Scott Kirby said in January that he wanted to make Covid vaccines mandatory for employees.
ViacomCBS
CEO Bob Bakish told employees earlier this month that the media conglomerate is requiring all U.S.-based employees working onsite during its “Yellow Phase” to be fully vaccinated, adding that it is still assessing whether this mandate will continue into the “Green Phase,” which is when most staff will be back in the office. Bakish also announced that the company is delaying the start of its “Green Phase” until Oct. 18 at the earliest.
“We will continue to closely monitor the impacts of the Delta variant and the response from schools, governments and other employers as we finalize our plans to return to the office,” Bakish said.
Walgreens
The pharmacy giant is requiring workers in its U.S. support offices to be fully vaccinated by Sept. 30, it said in a statement on Aug. 3. Those who do not adhere to the new rule will have to undergo Covid testing. Store associates must wear masks, regardless of vaccination status.
The Walt Disney Company
Disney is requiring all of its new, salaried and non-union hourly employees to get vaccinated before heading to work. “Employees who aren’t already vaccinated and are working on-site will have 60 days from today to complete their protocols, and any employees still working from home will need to provide verification of vaccination prior to their return, with certain limited exceptions,” the company said in part in an emailed statement. “Vaccines are the best tool we all have to help control this global pandemic and protect our employees.”
Walmart
Walmart corporate associates, managers and new hires are required to get their shot by Oct. 4, President and CEO Doug McMillon told employees in an internal memo obtained by NBC News. “As we all know, the pandemic is not over, and the Delta variant has led to an increase in infection rates across much of the U.S,” he wrote. “Given this, we have made the decision to require all campus office associates and all market, regional and divisional associates who work in multiple facilities to be vaccinated by Oct. 4, unless they have an approved exception.”
The Washington Post
Post employees, including new hires, must demonstrate proof of vaccination as a condition of their employment starting when they return to the office on Oct. 18, CEO Fred Ryan told staff in a memo sent out last week. “Even though the overwhelming majority of Post employees have already provided proof of vaccination, I do not take this decision lightly,” he said. “However, in considering the serious health issues and genuine safety concerns of so many Post employees, I believe the plan is the right one.”
