Vaccines Mandatory for Return to Office, says Google

Google has postponed its return to work until at least October and will require all staff to be vaccinated, the firm announced on Wednesday. In a blog post, Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai stated that employees returning to the company’s headquarters must get vaccinated, with exceptions made for “medical or other protected reasons.” While other major IT businesses have pushed employees to get shots, Google is the first to require vaccinations.

While some of Google 144,000 global employees have already returned to work voluntarily, no one will be obliged to appear in person until at least October 18. Employees will be given at least 30 days’ notice before being required to return if the deadline is pushed out further. In addition, until the end of 2021, workers with unspecified “exceptional circumstances” will be able to apply to work from home.

Pichai said, “We recognize that many Google are seeing spikes in their communities caused by the Delta variant and are concerned about returning to the office.” The news comes as coronavirus instances continue to rise, prompting the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to suggest that vaccinated Americans living in high-risk regions, such as New York City, wear masks indoors. In addition, companies across industries are rethinking their plans for in-person meetings this fall due to this development.

Google statement comes just one week after Apple made a similar announcement, delaying its return to work from September to at least October. Other big businesses, such as Twitter and Facebook, have stated that many staff is welcome to work remotely indefinitely – though Facebook wants to reduce pay for employees who relocate outside of Silicon Valley. anticipates most employees to return to in-person work at least three days per week following the outbreak.