Citigroup to Workers: Get a Shot or Get a New Job

Citigroup is giving its employees who haven’t yet received a COVID vaccine one more week to either get a shot or find new work.

As Bloomberg News reported Friday (Jan. 7), the Wall Street bank has set a deadline of Jan. 14 for any holdouts to get vaccinated. Office workers who still haven’t gotten a vaccine by that date will be put on unpaid leave, with their final day of employment coming at the end of January.

Some employees will still be eligible for year-end bonuses, but will have to sign an agreement that bars them for seeking legal action against Citigroup to receive that money, the company said in a memo obtained by Bloomberg.

“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.

A majority of the bank’s staffers – more than 90% – have complied with the rule, and that number continues to climb, a company spokeswoman said.

The story points out that Citigroup’s efforts are notable because its rules are the strictest among Wall Street’s financial giants. Goldman Sachs and J.P. Morgan Chase, for example, allow employees to avoid vaccination if they don’t come to work.

Rules mandating vaccines are a contentious issue for a number of employers, leading to pushback from employees and, in some cases, litigation.

The Supreme Court was due to hear arguments Friday on a order from the Biden Administration that requires large employers to have their workers vaccinated or administer weekly COVID tests. The outcome of that case could mean more testing or mandates down the road.

Learn more: US One-Day Record of 1M+ COVID-19 Positives Includes New Year’s Backlog

The news comes at the end of a week that saw the U.S. set a record 1 million COVID cases, the most recorded in a single day. Even though that number included a testing backlog from the New Year’s weekend, the country has continued to see a surge due to the highly-contagious omicron valiant.

Last week, Dr. Anthony Fauci, chief medical adviser to President Biden, said the U.S. should weigh making vaccinations for COVID-19 a requirement for taking domestic flights, arguing this would incentivize more people to get the shots.