GE mandates COVID-19 vaccines for U.S. workers (nasdaq.com)
General Electric Co GE.N has asked its U.S.-based workers to get COVID-19 shots or seek a medical or religious accommodation by Dec. 8 in order to comply with U.S. President Joe Biden's executive order.
As part of efforts to control the pandemic, which has killed more than 700,000 Americans, Biden, a Democrat, last month signed the order requiring federal contractors to mandate COVID-19 shots for employees and get them vaccinated by Dec. 8.
As a federal contractor, GE said it is complying with the executive order. The company updated its vaccine policy for more than 50,000 U.S. workers last week.
The Boston-based conglomerate is the latest U.S. employer to impose such a requirement, which has sparked a political fight.
While supporters of vaccine mandates see them as necessary to pull the country out of the nearly two-year-old pandemic, critics are calling them unconstitutional and authoritarian.
The White House has said vaccine requirements have driven up COVID-19 vaccination rates by 20 percentage points.
The measure has drawn a sharp reaction from some Republicans, with Texas Governor Greg Abbott last week barring COVID-19 vaccine mandates by any entity, including private employers.
Union Pacific Corp UNP.N and its three unions have sued each other over the vaccine mandate.
[GE mandates COVID-19 vaccines for U.S. workers](https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/ge-mandates-covid-19-vaccines-for-u.s.-workers-2021-10-19-0)
General Electric Co GE.N has asked its U.S.-based workers to get COVID-19 shots or seek a medical or religious accommodation by Dec. 8 in order to comply with U.S. President Joe Biden's executive order.
As part of efforts to control the pandemic, which has killed more than 700,000 Americans, Biden, a Democrat, last month signed the order requiring federal contractors to mandate COVID-19 shots for employees and get them vaccinated by Dec. 8.
As a federal contractor, GE said it is complying with the executive order. The company updated its vaccine policy for more than 50,000 U.S. workers last week.
The Boston-based conglomerate is the latest U.S. employer to impose such a requirement, which has sparked a political fight.
While supporters of vaccine mandates see them as necessary to pull the country out of the nearly two-year-old pandemic, critics are calling them unconstitutional and authoritarian.
The White House has said vaccine requirements have driven up COVID-19 vaccination rates by 20 percentage points.
The measure has drawn a sharp reaction from some Republicans, with Texas Governor Greg Abbott last week barring COVID-19 vaccine mandates by any entity, including private employers.
Union Pacific Corp UNP.N and its three unions have sued each other over the vaccine mandate.
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