T-Mobile to fire unvaccinated workers by April

Telecommunication company T-Mobile has introduced a vaccine policy for their staff, according to various reports, warning them of termination if they do not get fully vaccinated by April 2. In an e-mail obtained by The T-Mo Report and Bloomberg, T-Mobile said that they’re requiring staff to get their first dose and provide proof of vaccination by February 21. Those who won't comply will be put on unpaid leave.

Affected employees who do not get vaccinated by April 2 will be "separated from T-Mobile," the e-mail read. However, T-Mobile's vaccine policy does not cover all employees, with differing directions in select staff. Retail workers, who are referred by the company as "Mobile Experts," are exempted from the mandate but are highly encouraged to get the jabs.

Workers under the Customer Experience Centres (CECs) are also exempted from being placed on unpaid leave if they are unable to produce proof of vaccination by late April.  They are not exempted, however, from the April 2 deadline, where T-Mobile said they will require proof of vaccination or a pending or approved accommodation from CEC staff. They also plan on bringing back CEC employees under a hybrid or fully on-site setup starting April 2.

Workers who have an approved medical or religious accommodations are also exempted from the mandate. For those with pending exemption requests, the requirement will not be applied to them while their case remain pending. Vaccinated employees will receive a "Magenta Pass," which T-Mobile uses to identify the vaccination status of employees. There are also certain areas that need the said badge to access, which T-Mobile said will remain in place.

"T-Mobile’s badge-controlled offices continue to be accessible only to those who are vaccinated against COVID-19," T-Mobile told The Verge in a statement.  

T-Mobile cited behind its decision the need to keep its employees and customers safe as the Omicron variant takes hold of the United States.

"We have weighed this issue carefully with the benefit of input from our medical advisors and insights from many other large companies with similar policies, and it's clear that this is the right thing to do to help save lives and prevent serious illness," the email to employees read.

The mandate came after several US-based companies began announcing whether they will continue or reverse their vaccine mandates, after the Supreme Court's decision to block President Joe Biden's vaccination plan to big companies.

Read more: 'No recourse' for employees who lost jobs because of vaccine mandates, lawyer says

Can employers fire unvaccinated workers?

Trevor Lawson, partner, Labour and Employment Group, previously told HRD that employers have the option to terminate their employee if they have a policy requiring proof of vaccination in the workplace.

"If an employer implements a policy requiring an employee to provide proof that they're fully vaccinated and the employee simply says, 'I am not prepared to do that' and does not have a valid basis on which to do so, then one of the remedies available for the employer is to terminate the employment relationship," Lawson said.

However, if there are legitimate grounds, including medical or religious grounds, then employers should come up with proper accommodations for the exempted worker.

Such accommodations include regular testing for the exempted staff or place them under remote work instead of making them report to the physical workplace.