What you need to know
- Apple is asking all of its employees in the United States to disclose if they are vaccinated against COVID-19.
- The company says that the request is voluntary.
Apple is inching closer to a vaccine mandate.
Apple is asking that all of its employees tell the company whether or not they are vaccinated against COVID-19.
As reported by Bloomberg, the company has sent out a new memo that asks employees to report on their vaccination status. According to the memo, the request is voluntary and, if an employee does wish to participate, the response deadline is September 17.
The iPhone maker has asked the employees to report their status "voluntarily" by mid-September, regardless of whether they are working remotely or from an office. The company said it's using the data to inform its Covid-19 response efforts and protocols. Apple previously asked employees in California, Washington and New Jersey for this information to comply with local regulations.
"As Apple's Covid-19 response continues to evolve, our primary focus remains keeping our team members, their friends and families, and our entire community healthy," Apple said in the memo. It set a deadline of Friday, Sept. 17.
The company says that such data will not be shared with employee's managers. However, additional information like building location could be required depending on what Apple decides is needed to implement return to work strategies.
"It is possible your vaccination status may be used in an identifiable manner, along with other information about your general work environment such as your building location, if we determine or, if it is required that, this information is necessary in order to ensure a healthy and safe work environment," Apple said in the memo.
Apple has been trying to return to the office for months now, but the Delta variant of COVID-19 has pushed the company's plans back until at least January of 2022. In the meantime, the company has reinstated the mask mandate at most of its retail stores, launched a new at-home testing program, and has also partnered with Walgreens to get its employees and their household vaccinated.
Apple has still stopped short of a vaccine mandate, a move that other major technology companies like Facebook and Google have put into place.
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