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““An unvaccinated workforce is both a people and business risk that our company is unwilling to take.””
The Supreme Court may have blocked the Biden Administration’s attempt to get large business with 100 or more employee to mandate COVID-19 vaccines, but apparel giant Carhartt is moving ahead with its own vaccine plan.
Carhartt CEO Mark Valade sent an email to his employees stating that the Michigan-based workwear company founded in 1889 will still require workers to vaccinate against COVID-19. Workers have to be vaccinated by Feb. 15.
Carhartt verified the contents of the email to MarketWatch. It was sent to employees last Friday, but the message was being shared widely across Twitter
TWTR,
on Tuesday afternoon.
“We put workplace safety at the very top of our priority list and the Supreme Court’s recent ruling doesn’t impact that core value,” the email said.
“We, and the medical community, continue to believe vaccines are necessary to ensure a safe working environment for every associate and even perhaps their households,” it continued. “While we appreciate that there may be differing views, workplace safety is an area where we and the union that represents our associates cannot compromise. An unvaccinated workforce is both a people and business risk that our company is unwilling to take.”
Valade is the great-grandson of the founder of Carhartt, Hamilton Carhartt, according to the Associated Press.
The email screenshot led “Carhartt” to trend on Twitter throughout the day Tuesday as people either praised the workwear company for protecting its workers’ health — or, threatened to boycott the brand for forcing its employees to get vaccinated.
Some of those applauding the move from Carhartt even pledged to support the company by buying more items from them. “Companies that value their employees safety and well being will always win my money,” wrote one.
Critics described the move as a way to control their workers and force vaccinations, with some calling to “cancel” Carhartt.
It’s important to note that these are just a few of the posts about the ongoing situation regarding Carhartt’s vaccination policy, and does not mean that equal amounts of people support and do not support the decision by the company.
“Carhartt fully understands and respects the varying opinions on this topic, and we are aware some of our associates do not support this policy. However, we stand behind our decision because we believe vaccines are necessary to protect our workforce,” a Carhartt spokesperson told MarketWatch on Tuesday.
““We stand behind our decision because we believe vaccines are necessary to protect our workforce.””
The government-run U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has stated that it is legal under federal law for companies to require their workers to get the COVID-19 vaccine, with a few exceptions related to other health complications, pregnancy, religious beliefs and other reasonable accommodations.
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And according to the Center for Diseases Control and Prevention, COVID-19 vaccines are safe and help protect people against COVID-19. “All currently authorized and recommended COVID-19 vaccines are safe and effective, and CDC does not recommend one vaccine over another. The most important decision is to get a COVID-19 vaccination as soon as possible,” the CDC says.
