Starbucks Corp. has announced that it will require its U.S. employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19 or undergo weekly testing. We've gathered articles on the news from SHRM Online and other media outlets.
Reason for the Change
The company said it was changing its policy to comply with new federal requirements. The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration has set a date of Feb. 9 for employers with at least 100 workers to require either full vaccination or weekly testing.
While COVID-19 case numbers have skyrocketed in the past weeks, Starbucks is not yet seeing broad closures of its cafes, unlike in the first half of 2020 when the pandemic forced the chain to temporarily shut at least half of its U.S. stores.
Supreme Court Will Hear Challenges to Vaccine Directives
Lawsuits aiming to block the Biden administration's vaccination directives for certain private employers and health care workers will be reviewed by the U.S. Supreme Court in early January. The high court scheduled oral arguments in both matters for Jan. 7 and will not decide whether to block the directives until the arguments are heard.
'Best Option'
Starbucks Chief Operating Officer John Culver told the company's approximately 220,000 U.S. employees that they must disclose their vaccination status by Jan. 10. First outlined in a Dec. 27 letter to employees, the new policy was reiterated in a weekly update on Jan. 3. "The vaccine is the best option we have, by far, when it comes to staying safe and slowing the spread of COVID-19," Culver wrote. "It's concerning to see this new variant has pushed daily COVID-19 case counts higher than the delta wave at its peak."
(CBS News)
Isolation Period Policy Updated
Starbucks also updated its policy on how long baristas should isolate after contracting COVID-19, following the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC's) new guidance last week. The company shortened the isolation period for workers with a COVID-19 case to five days from 10. Baristas can receive self-isolation pay for up to five days of missed shifts twice during the company's fiscal second quarter.
(The Wall Street Journal) and (CNBC)
CDC's New Guidance
On Dec. 27, the CDC recommended that people who test positive for COVID-19 but have no symptoms should isolate for five days, down from its previous recommendation of 10 days. The agency attributed the change to evidence that the coronavirus is most infectious in the two or three days after symptoms arise. In addition, the CDC recommended that people who remain asymptomatic after the isolation period ends should wear a mask in the presence of others for an additional five days.
(NBC News)
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