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A28 u.s. news
Diamars 3 augustus 2021

US employers ratchet up the pressure on the unvaccinated

week that all federal employ- a fierce surge that is driving
ees and contractors must get hospital caseloads in some Matthew Putman, CEO of
vaccinated or put up with places to their highest levels New York-based high-tech
weekly testing and lose privi- since the outbreak began. manufacturing hub Nano-
leges such as official travel. The president had hoped to tronics, said he agonized
reach his target by the Fourth over his decision to impose
The federal government has of July. a vaccine mandate on his
said it will cover the costs of more than 100 employees.
the weekly tests. As for other The Union Square Hos- As it turned out, nearly all
employers, insurance may pitality Group, a group of of them were already vacci-
pay for such testing at some New York City restaurants nated, though he dreads the
workplaces but not others. and bars founded by Danny prospect of having to fire any
Meyer, is now requiring em- holdouts.
Biden’s decision could em- ployees and customers to be
bolden other employers by vaccinated by Sept. 7. “I hate the thought. But if it
signaling they would be on has to happen it has to hap-
(AP) — Employers are In contrast, major compa- solid legal ground to im- The San Francisco Bar Own- pen,” Putman said. “I lost a
losing patience with un- nies that rely on low-income pose similar rules, said Brian er Alliance, a group of about ton of sleep over this but not
vaccinated workers. blue-collar workers — food Kropp, chief of research at 300 bars, made a similar de- as much sleep as I’ve lost over
manufacturers, warehouses, consulting firm Gartner’s cision following a meeting the fear of infection.”
For months, most employers supermarkets and other store human resources practice. where “the thing that stood
relied on information cam- chains — are shying away out was anger and frustra- Other mandates could pro-
paigns, bonuses and other from mandates for fear of But Kropp said some com- tion” toward vaccine hold- vide a clearer test of the po-
incentives to encourage their driving away employees and panies face complicated con- outs, said founder Ben Blei- tential for employee backlash.
workforces to get the COV- worsening the labor shortag- siderations that go beyond man.
ID-19 shot. Now, a growing es such businesses are facing. legalities, including deep re- Hospitals and nursing home
number are imposing rules sistance to vaccines in many While some companies fear chains, for instance, are in-
to make it more onerous for Tyson Foods, for instance, states where they operate. vaccine mandates will drive creasingly requiring the vac-
employees to refuse, from said about half of its U.S. workers away, the pandemic cine. So far, such mandates
outright mandates to requir- workforce — 56,000 em- Retailers like Walmart might itself is also causing absentee- have survived legal challeng-
ing the unvaccinated to un- ployees — has received shots have a hard time justifying ism. Bleiman said he recent- es. More than 150 employees
dergo regular testing. after the meat and poultry vaccine requirements for ly had to close his bar for a at a Houston hospital system
processor hosted more than their workers while allowing night after his bartender, who who refused to get the CO-
Among employers getting 100 vaccination events since shoppers to remain unvacci- was fully vaccinated, tested VID-19 shot were fired or re-
tougher are the federal gov- February. But the company nated, Kropp added. Stores positive and a replacement signed after a judge dismissed
ernment, the state govern- said it has no plans to impose have mostly avoided vaccine couldn’t be found. an employee lawsuit over the
ments of California and New a mandate to reach the other requirements for customers requirement.
York, tech giants Google and half. for fear of alienating them Some employers are con-
Facebook, the Walt Disney and because of the difficulty cluding that requiring vac- Atria Senior Living, which
Co. and the NFL. Some Walmart and Amazon, the in trying to verify their status. cines is simpler than trying to operates more than 200 senior
hospitals, universities, res- country’s two largest private come up with different rules living communities across
taurants, bars and other en- employers, have also declined In surveys by Gartner, fewer on masks and social distanc- the country, was among the
tertainment venues have also to require its hourly workers than 10% of employers have ing for the small number of first to mandate vaccines for
started requiring vaccines. to get vaccinated, continu- said they intend to require all unvaccinated employees. its staff in January.
ing to rely on strategies such employees to be vaccinated.
But the new measures are as bonuses and onsite access BlackRock, the global invest- It worked. Nearly 99% of
unlikely to affect many of to shots. But in a potentially But a shift is building amid ment manager, is allowing Atria’s 10,000 employees are
the millions of unvaccinated powerful signal, Walmart said frustration over plateauing only vaccinated workers into vaccinated, and only a tiny
Americans. employees at its headquarters vaccination rates and alarm its U.S. offices for now and fraction quit over the re-
will be required to get vacci- over the spread of the more said people will be free to quirement, said CEO and
Many of the companies that nated by Oct. 4. contagious delta variant. go maskless, as local health Chairman John Moore.
are requiring shots have guidelines allow, and sit next
mostly office workers who The biggest precedent so On Monday, the U.S. finally to each other and congregate “Our residents deserve to live
are already largely vaccinat- far has come from the fed- reached Biden’s goal of dis- without restrictions. The in a vaccinated environment.
ed and are reluctant to work eral government, the nation’s pensing at least one shot to firm said 85% of its U.S. em- Our staff deserves to work in
alongside those who aren’t. largest employer. President 70% of American adults — ployees are vaccinated or in a vaccinated environment,”
Joe Biden announced last but a month late and amid the process of getting shots. Moore said.

With evictions resuming, tenants scramble for assistance

(AP) — The eviction sys- tenants, while families from rium to expire over the week- billion had been distributed
tem, which saw a dramat- Ohio to Virginia turned up end and Congress was unable through June by states and In Rhode Island on Monday,
ic drop in cases before a before judges hoping for a to extend it. House Speaker localities. A second amount Gabe Imondi, a 74-year-old
federal moratorium ex- last-minute reprieve. In De- Nancy Pelosi called for an of $21.5 billion will go to the landlord, was in court hop-
pired over the weekend, troit, at least 600 tenants with immediate extension, call- states. ing to get an eviction execu-
rumbled back into ac- court orders against them ing it a “moral imperative” tion — the final step to push
tion Monday, with activ- were at immediate risk. to prevent Americans from More than 15 million people a tenant out of one of four
ists girding for the first of being put out of their homes live in households that owe as housing units he owns in
what could be millions of “It’s very scary with the mor- during a COVID-19 surge. much as $20 billion to their nearby Pawtucket.
tenants to be tossed onto atorium being over,” said Ted The Biden administra- landlords, according to the
the streets as the delta Phillips, a lawyer who leads tion had hoped that historic Aspen Institute. As of July 5, Imondi said he and his ten-
variant of the coronavirus the United Community amounts of rental assistance roughly 3.6 million people in ant both filed forms for the
surges. Housing Coalition in De- allocated by Congress would the U.S. said they faced evic- billions in federal aid meant
troit. help avert a crisis. But the tion in the next two months, to help keep tenants in their
Landlords tired of waiting for distribution has been pain- according to the U.S. Census homes but so far, he said,
federal rental assistance were The Biden administration fully slow: Only about $3 bil- Bureau’s Household Pulse he hasn’t seen a cent of the
in court hoping to evict their allowed the federal morato- lion of the first tranche of $25 Survey. state’s $200 million share.