Budapest Post

Cum Deo pro Patria et Libertate
Budapest, Europe and world news

Citigroup Confronts Vaccine Holdouts In No Jab, No Job Mandate

Citigroup Confronts Vaccine Holdouts In No Jab, No Job Mandate

Office workers who don't comply by Jan. 14 will be placed on unpaid leave, and their last day of employment will come at the end of the month, according to a message to staff seen by 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.

Office workers who don't comply by Jan. 14 will be placed on unpaid leave, and their last day of employment will come at the end of the month, according to a message to staff seen by Bloomberg. 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% 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 divisivenessplaying out across the country.

A spokeswoman for New York-based Citigroup confirmed that more than 90% 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.

Vaccine mandates have become a fraught issue for employers from hospital operators to police forces and corporations, leading to litigation and resistance from some workers -- though ultimately there has been broad compliance. The U.S. Supreme Court is set to hear arguments Friday on a Biden Administration order for large employers to require vaccinations or weekly Covid tests, meaning more mandates could be coming if the rules proceed.

Companies are rapidly finalizing plans for how to comply, said Melanie Paul, equity principal and co-leader of the workplace safety and health practice group at the law firm Jackson Lewis. Most employers have chosen to make vaccines voluntary and ramp up testing and masking policies, she said.

"It's extremely onerous for employers," Paul said, noting challenges in obtaining tests and tracking the data. "Because of these burdens, there are a lot of employers that are just waiting to see what the Supreme Court does before they go ahead and roll out their plans."

Citigroup's move to outright require shots is particularly complex because the company's presence extends to so many corners of the country -- from Manhattan bankers to tellers at hundreds of local branches to back-office workers in locations across Florida, Texas, Missouri and Kentucky.

The geographic disparities mean contending with an array of rules and political viewpoints. In New York City, workers are subject to a broad private-sector mandate. But in areas such as Florida and Texas, governors have actively spoken out against requiring vaccinations.

Contractor Order


When Citigroup first announced the mandate for all U.S. employees in late October, the lender cited an executive order from President Joe Biden that required all individuals supporting government contracts, as well as anyone who works in the same offices as those employees, to be fully vaccinated. While that order has since faced legal challenges, the bank has pushed ahead with its directive.

While office employees face a Jan. 14 deadline, branch workers were given a different timeline, though they'll ultimately have to comply as well. To boost acceptance, the bank has taken measures including bringing in medical experts to educate staff, holding town halls with human-resources leaders and handing out prizes for vaccinated workers. It also offered paid time off to people getting the shot.

The mandate has reverberated across the company: A LinkedIn post by an executive outlining the policy garnered nearly 700 comments. Some employees cheered the firm's decision and called it a step forward or thanked Citigroup for keeping them and their families safe. But others voiced concerns, arguing this robbed them of freedoms or invaded their privacy.

"I've been sitting at home for two years now, I rarely go to the office, my direct reports are states away -- this felt like a huge overreach," said George Pagano, who spent five years in Citigroup's operations and technology division before departing in November due to the mandate. "When it comes to promoting the company at the expense of having to threaten to fire people the week after Christmas, it just seemed to be a bit too much."

In private chat rooms, employees have traded strategies for having exemptions granted, according to interviews with current and former workers. Others have been more public: Ben Shittu, who works in the technology division of Citigroup's human-resources department in Ireland, made a YouTube video lambasting the mandate.

"I have been compelled to make this video in direct response to the enforcement of a vaccine mandate and possible terminations of core team members and U.S.-based employees within Citigroup," Shittu said in the video. "For those of you that are extremely concerned or feel like you have been failed by your managers, I would like you to know that you are not alone."

Shittu said in a LinkedIn message that he has been contacted by scores of Citigroup employees in the U.S. since posting the video. It has been viewed more than 9,400 times.

Vaccine Acceptance


Evidence is growing that vaccine rules haven't led to major employee defections. Just 3% of employers with mandates in a November surveyby Willis Towers Watson said they had a spike in resignations. United Airlines Holdings Inc. and Tyson Foods Inc., two of the earliest large companies to impose similar rules, reported 99% and 96% compliance near their deadlines.

In New York, unions representing members of the police department warned a city mandate would pull thousands of officers off the streets. When the deadline passed, fewer than three dozen were placed on leave.

Still, employers now are contending with one added complication: the rapid spread of the omicron variant. Breakthrough infections have soared, making a mandate less palatable to those workers already hesitant to get the jab.

It also affects deadlines at companies such as Citigroup. If employees tested positive for the disease in recent weeks and received certain therapies, they have to wait 90 days before they can get vaccinated under guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

"With omicron, everyone is getting it, even people who are vaccinated and boosted," said Paul. "That is also now a consideration that employers are thinking about when determining whether they should have a mandatory vaccination policy."

AI Disclaimer: An advanced artificial intelligence (AI) system generated the content of this page on its own. This innovative technology conducts extensive research from a variety of reliable sources, performs rigorous fact-checking and verification, cleans up and balances biased or manipulated content, and presents a minimal factual summary that is just enough yet essential for you to function as an informed and educated citizen. Please keep in mind, however, that this system is an evolving technology, and as a result, the article may contain accidental inaccuracies or errors. We urge you to help us improve our site by reporting any inaccuracies you find using the "Contact Us" link at the bottom of this page. Your helpful feedback helps us improve our system and deliver more precise content. When you find an article of interest here, please look for the full and extensive coverage of this topic in traditional news sources, as they are written by professional journalists that we try to support, not replace. We appreciate your understanding and assistance.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán stated that Hungary will not adopt the euro because the European Union is falling apart.
Mayor in western Germany in intensive care after stabbing
Australian government pays Deloitte nearly half a million dollars for a report built on fabricated quotes, fake citations, and AI-generated nonsense.
BYD’s UK Sales Soar Nearly Nine-Fold, Making Britain Its Biggest Market Outside China
Latvia to Bar Tourist and Occasional Buses to Russia and Belarus Until 2026
Wave of Complaints Against Apple Over iPhone 17 Pro’s Scratch Sensitivity
Munich Airport Reopens After Second Drone Shutdown
Pro Europe and Anti-War Babiš Poised to Return to Power After Czech Parliamentary Vote
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Sentenced to Fifty Months in Prison Following Prostitution Conviction
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Tokyo’s Jimbōchō Named World’s Coolest Neighbourhood for 2025
European Officials Fear Trump May Shift Blame for Ukraine War onto EU
The Personality Rights Challenge in India’s AI Era
Italy Considers Freezing Retirement Age at 67 to Avert Scheduled Hike
Italian City to Impose Tax on Visiting Dogs Starting in 2026
Study Finds No Safe Level of Alcohol for Dementia Risk
Trump Says Ukraine Can Fully Restore Borders with NATO Backing
Europe Signals Stronger Support for Taiwan at Major Taipei Defence Show
Germany Weighs Excluding France from Key European Fighter Jet Programme
Cyberattack Disrupts Check-in and Boarding Systems at Major European Airports
Björn Borg Breaks Silence: Memoir Reveals Addiction, Shame and Cancer Battle
When Extremism Hijacks Idealism: How the Baader-Meinhof Gang Emerged and Fell
JWST Data Brings TRAPPIST-1e Closer to Earth-Like Habitability
Trump Orders $100,000 Fee on H-1B Visas and Launches ‘Gold Card’ Immigration Pathway
France’s Looming Budget Crisis and Political Fracture Raise Fears of Becoming Europe’s “Sick Man”
Three Russian MiG-31 Jets Breach Estonian Airspace in ‘Unprecedentedly Brazen’ NATO Incident
European manufacturers against ban on polluting cars: "The industry may collapse"
Turkish car manufacturer Togg Enters German Market with 5-Star Electric Sedan and SUV to Challenge European EV Brands
Christian Brueckner Released from German Prison after Serving Unrelated Sentence
World’s Longest Direct Flight China Eastern to Launch 29-Hour Shanghai–Buenos Aires Direct Flight via Auckland in December
New OpenAI Study Finds Majority of ChatGPT Use Is Personal, Not Professional
The conservative right spreads westward: a huge achievement for 'Alternative for Germany' in local elections
Pope Leo Warns of Societal Crisis Over Mega-CEO Pay, Citing Tesla’s Proposed Trillion-Dollar Package
Poland Green-Lights NATO Deployment in Response to Major Russian Drone Incursion
U.S. and China Agree on Framework to Shift TikTok to American Ownership
Le Pen Tightens the Pressure on Macron as France Edges Toward Political Breakdown
Czech Republic signs €1.34 billion contract for Leopard 2A8 main battle tanks with delivery from 2028
Penske Media Sues Google Over “AI Overviews,” Claiming It Uses Journalism Without Consent and Destroys Traffic
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
One in Three Europeans Now Uses TikTok, According to the Chinese Tech Giant
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
NATO Deploys ‘Eastern Sentry’ After Russian Drones Violate Polish Airspace
The New Life of Novak Djokovic
German police raid AfD lawmaker’s offices in inquiry over Chinese payments
Volkswagen launches aggressive strategy to fend off Chinese challenge in Europe’s EV market
France Erupts in Mass ‘Block Everything’ Protests on New PM’s First Day
×