T-Mobile To Fire All Unvaccinated Corporate Staff By April

President Biden’s vaccine mandates have been successfully challenged in the courts, but that isn’t stopping some companies from cracking down on “anti-vax” employees, even deciding that they will move ahead with plans to fire those who don’t accept the vaccine.

T-Mobile on Saturday became the latest major American company (it’s the country’s third-largest wireless carrier) when Bloomberg published details from a memo sent to the company’s staff.

The policy will apply to all employees who require “regular or occasional” access to T-Mobile’s offices, which the company says means practically all of its staff. Those who don’t comply will have their badge privileges revoked, and will automatically lose access to all T-Mobile facilities.

“Affected employees who do not become fully vaccinated and obtain a Magenta Pass by April 2 will be separated from T-Mobile,” said Deeanne King, T-Mobile’s chief human resources officer, in the memo, referring to the internal digital pass that requires the proof of vaccination.

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“T-Mobile’s badge-controlled offices continue to be accessible only to those who are vaccinated against Covid-19 and we have shared with employees that we are requiring office workers to be fully vaccinated by April 2,” it said, with limited exceptions for certain roles, locations and legally mandated accommodations and exemptions.

Exceptions will of course be made for staff with approved medical and/or religious excuses, the company said.

There will be some other important exceptions. For example, to prevent any impact on customer service, workers in the company’s stores – who do most of the interacting with members of the public on the company’s behalf –  will face different requirements.

According to Bloomberg, the memo said that vaccine rules and decision to terminate unvaccinated employees wouldn’t apply to field technicians and most in-store retail roles, but the company is encouraging the shots and regular testing for those workers.

So far, T-Mobile is one of the largest US companies to commit to fire unvaccinated workers. Most other companies have moved on now that the Supreme Court has blocked Biden’s attempt to enforce vaccinations via OSHA.