A Tsunami of Lawsuits is About to Hit Corporate America

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ABC News recently reported that CNN fired three employees for coming to work unvaccinated. Here is a quote…

CNN has fired three employees who violated company policy by coming to work unvaccinated against the COVID-19 virus.

CNN chief Jeff Zucker told staff members of the firing in a memo sent Thursday that reminded them that vaccines were mandatory if they report to the office or out in the field where they come into contact with other employees.

“Let me be clear — we have a zero tolerance policy on this,” wrote Zucker, chairman of news and sports for WarnerMedia.

The memo was obtained by The Associated Press after its contents were first tweeted by CNN media reporter Oliver Darcy. CNN offered no details on the firings, or where the employees were based.

CNN is far from being the only company to mandate vaccines of their employees. Here is a quote from CNBC.

The U.S. government may not require that everyone get Covid-19 vaccines, but large employers across corporate America are stepping into the void.

More than a dozen large U.S. corporations, including Walmart, Google, Tyson Foods and United Airlines, have recently announced vaccine mandates for some or all of their workers.

And if you want to get granular on companies who have announced covid vaccine mandates, click here for a list of companies mandating and encouraging employees to get the jab. Below is just a partial list of companies mandating employees get vaccinated for Covid.

  • Delta Air Lines new hires 
  • Facebook employees at U.S. campuses
  • U.S.-based Google employees
  • Employees of The Washington Post
  • New York City-based Morgan Stanley employees
  • CNN employees
  • Twitter
  • Asset manager BlackRock
  • All office-based employees of Lyft
  • Private healthcare network Ascension Health
  • Cast and crew of U.S. Netflix productions
  • Norweigan Cruise Lines crew
  • Employees and crew members at all U.S.-based Walt Disney parks
  • In September, Microsoft will require vaccinated employees, vendors, and visitors to its U.S. offices
  • Office-based Uber employees
  • All U.S.-based employees of United Airlines
  • Corporate office employees of Walgreens
  • Salesforce
  • Cisco
  • Anthem health insurance company
  • Frontier Airlines employees beginning October 1 
  • U.S.-based Ford employees that travel overseas  

Curiously enough, while companies have begun making mandates, employees have been resisting the trend. One major example is coming from the healthcare industry, as ironic as that is. Here is a quote from a NPR report.

More than 150 employees at a Houston hospital system who refused to get a COVID-19 vaccine have been fired or resigned after a judge dismissed an employee lawsuit over the vaccine requirement.

A spokesperson for Houston Methodist Hospital system said 153 employees either resigned in the two-week suspension period or were terminated on Tuesday.

Earlier this month, a federal judge threw out the lawsuit filed by 117 employees over the requirement.

The case over how far health care institutions can go to protect patients and others against the coronavirus has been closely watched. It’s is believed to be the first of its kind in the U.S. But it won’t be the end of the debate.

I do not have any connections within the hospital system reported on so, all I can do is speculate. I am sure that the sudden loss of 150 employees has had a significant impact. How could it not? Moreover, of the employees that were fired solely because they would not get vaccinated, how many of them are suing their former employer? Of those who resigned because of the vaccine mandates, how many are considering legal action? Moreover, is the healthcare system ready to deal with so many potential lawsuits coming at once?

Let’s go further in speculation. I am not a legal expert so, take this with a grain of salt. Even if lawsuits based on covid vaccines are largely winnable by the employer (as some people think), how much time and money and employer brand reputation will be lost in fighting them? How will that affect recruiting efforts? How will retention rates be affected when new variants appear and booster shots are recommended? Or when/if vaccine deaths become too large to be ignored by mainstream media?

And pity the HR department who will be deluged with exemption requests, especially when so many forms are freely available online. Here is list of such resources that I found at a cursory glance.

And then there is the meme logic that has been floating ad infinitum on the internet.

If the vaccine is effective, won’t it protect you from the unvaccinated? If social distancing works, why wear the mask? If masks work, why bother with a vaccine?

All that to say, Employers, you can choose to mandate a vaccination and risk…

Perhaps the best question of all, is it worth mandating a choice that should be between a person and their doctor? As you ponder that, I will leave you with this video. Admittedly, I thought it was a comedy skit but it is not. This is a legitimate promotion for getting a covid vaccination shot. What is wrong with this picture?

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