The image is by Alex Castro.
According to reports, Intel has told employees that they need to get the vaccine or submit an exemption by January 4th. They will be put on leave if they don't do something.
Unvaccinated employees will need to seek an exemption or get weekly tests if they are working from home, according to a memo obtained by both publications. The company will review medical and religious exemptions up until March 15th of next year. The company put a vaccine deadline in place last month, but didn't specify what would happen if employees didn't comply
Unvaccinated employees will not be fired and healthcare benefits will be provided to those on leave.
If an employee is not granted an exemption, they will be put on leave for at least three months starting on April 4th and will not be terminated. She said that healthcare benefits will still be provided by Intel.
The vaccine requirement for companies with over 100 employees was put in place by Intel. Federal courts are debating whether a sweeping mandate is constitutional. Intel said in a statement that it expects the case in Georgia and other similar ones to be fully resolved.
If unvaccinated employees don't get vaccine by January 13th, they will be placed on administrative leave for 30 days. If they are still not up to date with their vaccinations, they could be subject to leave and even dismissal. Facebook and Microsoft have set back their vaccine mandates until at least 2022. Apple hasn't set a vaccine mandate like other tech companies. Apple requires employees to take regular COVID tests.
The Verge reached out to Intel but didn't hear back.
