Citigroup confronts vaccine holdouts in no jab, no job mandate
BNN Bloomberg
Citigroup Inc. was the first major Wall Street bank to impose a strict COVID-19 vaccine mandate: Get a shot or face termination. With its deadline fast approaching, the company is preparing for action.
Citigroup Inc. was the first major Wall Street bank to impose a strict COVID-19 vaccine mandate: Get a shot or face termination. With its deadline fast approaching, the company is preparing for action.
Office workers who don’t comply by Jan. 14 will be placed on unpaid leave and a message to staff seen by Bloomberg said their last day of employment will come at the end of the month. While some of the employees will be eligible for certain year-end bonus payments, they’ll have to sign an agreement that states they won’t pursue legal action against the company to receive the funds, the company said in the message.
“You are welcome to apply for other roles at Citi in the future as long as you are compliant with Citi’s vaccination policy,” the company said in the memo.
More than 90 per cent of Citigroup’s staffers have complied with the rule for U.S. workers, which also allows for employees to apply for religious or medical exemptions, according to people familiar with the matter, who asked not to be named discussing private information. While that number continues to rise quickly, the company has had to navigate shifting local laws and is facing public backlash from a handful of employees -- mirroring the vaccine divisiveness playing out across the country.
A spokeswoman for New York-based Citigroup confirmed that more than 90 per cent of the firm’s staffers have complied with the rule and that the figure is climbing rapidly, but declined to comment further.
As the omicron variant roils America’s return-to-office plans and workplace vaccine requirements are debated in court, Citigroup’s effort to require shots among about 70,000 employees is worth watching because its rules are the sternest so far among major financial companies, an industry that’s been keen to bring back workers to their buildings. While rivals such as Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and JPMorgan Chase & Co. have some vaccine requirements in place, their policies enable employees to avoid getting the shot if they don’t come into offices.
