Citigroup employees who are not vaccinated against COVID-19 may soon find themselves unemployed under the company’s strict vaccination mandate, issued in October.
Unvaccinated staff members of the nation’s fourth-largest bank will receive unpaid leave starting Friday and will be fired at the end of the month unless they are granted a medical or religious exemption, according to a memo sent to staff on Friday, Bloomberg reported.
“Meeting the requirement means submitting proof of vaccination before the January 14 deadline or receiving an approved medical or religious accommodation or state-allowed exemption,” a source with knowledge of the bank’s policies told CBS MoneyWatch. , while noting that the same deadline does not apply to branch staff.
Citi was the first major US bank in October to require COVID-19 inoculation as a condition of employment.
“Our people are our most important asset and we will do everything we can to help our colleagues meet this at the time of the announcement,” Sara Wechter, Citigroup’s chief human resources officer, said in a LinkedIn post at the time. In detailing the company’s logic, he cited compliance with federal policy as a major factor in the bank’s decision.
“First, since the US government is a large and important client of Citi, we have an obligation to comply with the Executive Order issued by the White House that mandates that people who support government contracts be fully vaccinated,” Wechter said.
With this latest memo, the bank is now the first major financial institution to fire employees who refuse to get vaccinated.
Employers in other industries, such as healthcare and aviation, have already started firing staff members who flouted vaccination rules.
The Mayo Clinic fired 700 employees on January 4 for defying the company’s mandate to get vaccinated before January 2, CBS Minnesota reported. And United Airlines laid off 232 employees, out of a total of 67,000 employees, for refusing to get vaccinated against the coronavirus, CEO Scott Kirby told CBS Mornings in October.
Citi’s strict policy comes as the Supreme Court debates whether the Biden administration has the authority to enforce its vaccine or testing rule in large companies, and as the number of COVID-19 cases in the US increases. .
While other financial firms like JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America have taken steps to encourage workers to get their opportunities, only Citi has gone so far as to make it a requirement for employment.
More than 90% of Citi’s roughly 65,000 US employees have already been vaccinated, the source confirmed. The banking giant is based in New York City, where private sector employers have been required since December 27 to demand vaccinations for their employees.
