McDonald's will require all of its U.S. corporate staff to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 by Sept. 27, and it's pushing back the opening of its domestic offices to give them time to get it done.
That's according to an internal note obtained by Restaurant Business that was sent to employees Wednesday.
The Chicago-based company will delay the reopening of its offices to Oct. 11, from Sept. 7, to allow workers time to get vaccinated and develop immunity. Employees who are already fully vaccinated will be allowed to return to the office on the originally scheduled date.
McDonald's, which until now had strongly encouraged vaccinations but stopped short of mandating them, cited the recent surge of COVID-19 cases as one reason for the change.
"We’ve heard from many of you that you would feel more comfortable returning to the office if you had more certainty your colleagues were vaccinated," it said in the note.
It also said state and local governments had been asking the company to mandate vaccination for corporate employees to help reduce the chances of infection and community spread.
The policy does not apply to restaurant employees in company-operated or franchised stores, McDonald's said, though it strongly encouraged staff at company locations to get vaccinated. Suppliers and contractors who visit any of its U.S. offices will have to abide by the new rules.
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