Starbucks Rescinds COVID-19 Jab Requirement for Workers After Supreme Court Ruling

Starbucks is no longer requiring its U.S. workers to show proof of the COVID-19 jab for employment.

The announcement reverses a policy from earlier this month that required employees to take the experimental injection.

The coffee giant’s decision to rescind their COVID-19 jab requirement was in response to the U.S. Supreme Court’s 6-3 ruling to block the OSHA mandate.

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Starbucks will no longer require its US workers to be vaccinated against COVID, reversing the policy it announced earlier this month.https://t.co/VtAacF1cuU

— Michael P Senger (@MichaelPSenger) January 19, 2022

Starbucks is no longer requiring its U.S. workers to be vaccinated against COVID-19, reversing a policy it announced earlier this month. The Seattle coffee giant said it was responding to last week’s ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court. https://t.co/Uab0Wfu6dY

— The Associated Press (@AP) January 19, 2022

AP News reported:

In a memo sent Tuesday to employees, the Seattle coffee giant said it was responding to last week’s ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court. In a 6-3 vote, the court rejected the Biden administration’s plan to require vaccines or regular COVID testing at companies with more than 100 workers.

“We respect the court’s ruling and will comply,” Starbucks Chief Operating Officer John Culver wrote in the memo.

Starbucks’ reversal is among the most high-profile corporate actions in response to the Supreme Court ruling. Many other big companies, including Target, have been mum on their plans.

Starbucks took the opposite approach to other companies that upheld their COVID-19 jab requirement, such as Nike and Carhartt.

Unsurprisingly, medical authoritarians weren’t happy about the decision:

https://twitter.com/krupali/status/1483861948852621312

OregonLive noted:

In Tuesday’s memo, Culver said the company continues to strongly encourage vaccinations and booster shots. The company also told workers on Tuesday that they shouldn’t wear cloth masks to work, and should instead use medical-grade surgical masks.

Starbucks required workers to reveal their vaccination status by Jan. 10. The company said Wednesday that 90% have reported and the “vast majority” are fully vaccinated. Starbucks wouldn’t say what percent of workers are not fully vaccinated.

Starbucks employs 228,000 people in the U.S.