(ABC4) – America’s most beloved café has announced that their employees are no longer required to be vaccinated or to submit weekly test results for the COVID-19 virus.
According to a Buzzfeed article, as of Jan. 13, the Supreme Court voted 6-3 in favor of pausing the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) mandate for businesses with 100 or more employees to require their workers to be fully vaccinated and submit coronavirus test results every week.
As stated by Buzzfeed, John Culver, the president of North America district and chief operating officer for the Seattle-based coffee chain, sent a memo to staff workers notifying them of the decision.
“I want to emphasize that we continue to believe strongly in the spirit and intent of the mandate,” Culver wrote in the memo addressed by Buzzfeed. He added that “the health, safety, and wellbeing of every partner remains our top priority,” and that the “vast majority” of Starbucks employees are fully vaccinated (90%).
Buzzfeed added that Culver disclosed that despite the mandate lift, Starbucks still “strongly” encourages its employees to get vaccinated and boosted.
“We will continue to follow the facts and science as we make our decisions and ensure partners understand their options,” Buzzfeed quoted Culver.
