T-mobile vaccine mandate: Office employees must comply by April

Vaccine mandates in the workplace: What you need to know | LiveNOW from FOX

The Supreme Court has stopped a major push by the Biden administration to boost the nation's COVID-19 vaccination rate, a requirement that employees at large businesses get a vaccine or test regularly and wear a mask on the job. Employment attorney Joshua Black speaks with LiveNOW's Daytona Everett about what this means for the average employee.

T-mobile will require certain employees to be fully vaccinated by April 2, one of the most high-profile corporate actions after the Supreme Court rejected earlier this month the Biden administration’s plan to require vaccines or regular COVID testing at companies with more than 100 workers.

"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," the company said in a statement issued to FOX Television Stations.

The company said the requirement has limited exceptions for certain roles, locations and legally mandated accommodations and exemptions.

"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 statement continued.

T-mobile is among a handful of high-profile corporations keeping the vaccine mandate.

Headquarters of T-MOBILE in Bonn, Germany. (Photo by plus49/Construction Photography/Avalon/Getty Images)

Citigroup Inc., one of the largest U.S. banks, announced in October that employees needed to be vaccinated or receive an accommodation by Jan. 14. New York-based Citi said last week that 99% of its employees have complied so far.

Work clothing maker Carhartt also stuck to its vaccine mandate. The Dearborn, Michigan-based company, which has 3,000 U.S. workers, told employees in an email that the Supreme Court decision wouldn't impact its own mandate, which went into effect this month.

Carhartt said the "vast majority" of its employees have gotten vaccines. The company has also granted some medical or religious waivers.

Some big companies have reversed their vaccine mandates after the Supreme Court Ruling.

Starbucks is no longer requiring its U.S. workers to be vaccinated, after previously saying all employees would be required by Feb. 9 to be vaccinated or face a weekly COVID test.

Boston-based General Electric Co. also suspended its vaccine mandate, according to IUE-CWA Local 201, a union that represents machinists, electricians and other GE employees. GE, which employs 56,000 people in the U.S., had initially called for employees to get fully vaccinated no later than Feb. 11.

Other big companies like Target and McDonald's stayed mum on their vaccination plans for frontline workers as the issue moved through the courts.

Many companies, facing labor shortages, have been loathe to force requirements on workers, who might choose to go elsewhere.

A November survey of more than 500 U.S. companies by the consulting firm Willis Towers Watson showed that very few employers with vaccination requirements — 3% — had seen a spike in resignations. But nearly one-third of those planning mandates said they were very concerned that the mandates could cause employees to leave. On the other hand, nearly half of employers surveyed believe that vaccine mandates could help recruit and retain employees.

This story was reported from Detroit. The Associated Press contributed.