Cell carrier T-Mobile notified its corporate employees that anyone who has not received the COVID-19 vaccine will be fired on April 2.
The company will also place anyone who is only partially vaccinated on unpaid leave.
In an email obtained by Bloomberg, T-Mobile’s chief of human resources Deeanne King notified corporate employees of the upcoming deadline.
There will be some exemptions depending on the role and the location. The company also acknowledge that there are certain legally mandated commendations and exemptions.
Customer service employees who have received one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine by Feb. 21 will not be placed on unpaid leave. Additionally, store employees and technicians are not subject to the mandate.
“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 2nd,” a T-Mobile spokesperson told Engadget. “We understand that this is a deeply personal decision for some employees but we believe that taking this step will put us in the best position to protect our T-Mobile community.”
The announcement is similar to the vaccination deadline set by other major companies in the United States.
Google employees had to declare their vaccine status by Jan. 18. Those who did not get the vaccine and did not get an exemption were placed on paid leave for 30 days. If they do not comply during that time, they will be moved to unpaid leave for six months and then terminated.
Most salaried employees of Ford were required to be fully vaccinated by Dec. 8. McDonald’s required its U.S. corporate employees to be vaccinated by Sept. 27 although the requirement does not apply to those who work in the fast-food chain’s restaurants.
Meta, the company formerly known as Facebook, said in early January that its U.S. office workers would be required to show proof of booster shots by March 28. Meta originally mandated COVID-19 vaccines in July.
Earlier this month, the U.S. Supreme Court blocked a mandate from the Biden administration that would have required companies with more than 100 employees to implement a vaccine-or-test policy.
The court found that the Occupational Safety and Health Administration did not have the federal authority to legally enforce the mandate.
“Although Congress has indisputably given OSHA the power to regulate occupational dangers, it has not given that agency the power to regulate public health more broadly,” wrote the court. “Requiring the vaccination of 84 million Americans, selected simply because they work for employers with more than 100 employees, certainly falls in the latter category.”
Following the ruling, the agency still recommended workers get the COVID-19 vaccine. The Biden administration formally withdrew the vaccine mandate on Jan. 25.
