Intel gave employees a deadline of January 4 to be fully vaccinated, or get a religious or medical exemption, in order to avoid being placed on unpaid leave in April.
The government mandate for federal contractors is enforced under an emergency temporary standard, or ETS, by the Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration, requiring companies with 100 or more employees to be fully vaccinated or require regular testing, Fox Business reported. If employees refuse testing or vaccination, they will be terminated under the ETS. It affects 84 million workers nationwide.
The constitutionality of broad government mandates has yet to be determined. A federal court in Georgia blocked the mandate earlier this month, but the government appealed the decision. On December 17, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals lifted the block, according to Fox Business.
A Labor Department spokesperson said: "OSHA can now once again implement this vital workplace health standard, which will protect the health of workers by mitigating the spread of the unprecedented virus in the workplace," according to Fox Business.
OSHA will not issue citations for violations until January 10, Business Insider reported.
"To provide employers with sufficient time to come into compliance, OSHA will not issue citations for noncompliance with any requirements of the ETS before January 10 and will not issue citations for noncompliance with the standard's testing requirements before February 9, so long as an employer is exercising reasonable, good faith efforts to come into compliance with the standard. OSHA will work closely with the regulated community to provide compliance assistance," OSHA said in a statement.
Intel is Oregon's largest corporate employer, having 21,000 employed in Washington County, according to the Oregonian/OregonLive. For now, the company is leaving its policies in place.
"We are closely monitoring the legal environment and expect it will take time for the case in Georgia, as well as other similar cases, to be fully resolved," Intel said in a statement.
In a December 7 memo to employees, Chief People Officer Christy Pambianchi told employees the January 4 vaccine deadline remains in place.
She wrote that employees who aren't vaccinated must seek a medical or religious accommodation and submit to weekly testing, regardless of whether they are still working remotely.
Intel will review employees' exemption requests until March 15. Pambianchi said employees who don't receive an exemption will begin unpaid leave on April 4 for at least three months but "will not be terminated."
She said Intel will continue providing health care benefits to unvaccinated employees on leave.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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