Related, Durst Vow To Fire Employees Who Don't Get Covid Vaccines
One of the largest property owners in the country is mandating that all employees receive at least one shot of the vaccine by the end of this month, as the private and public sectors continue to ramp up immunization requirements across the country.
Related, the Stephen Ross-led firm that developed Hudson Yards, plans to fire anyone who is unvaccinated and does not have a health or religious exemption, Crain’s New York Business reports. It has set the deadline for at least one shot by Aug. 31.
“Being vaccinated will be a requirement to work at Related,” the company told staff in a memo Monday, per Crain's. “There are exemptions from this policy for bona fide medical or religious reasons only.”
Related operates more than 13,000 apartments and more than 30M SF of commercial space nationally. The developer joins New York real estate giant The Durst Organization, which controls One World Trade Center, in outlining a "vaccine or you're fired" mandate, along with a growing number of firms and governments that are requiring vaccines or weekly testing.
Durst has set Labor Day as the deadline for all nonunion staff who do not have an exemption to be vaccinated or face having their job terminated. Related’s policy applies to union and nonunion employees. A spokesperson for Durst told Crain’s last month that tenants are now telling them they will not let unvaccinated people into their spaces.
The companies' plans come as the government and companies begin to formulate their vaccination policies. In New York City, Mayor Bill de Blasio Tuesday announced that the city is establishing a program that requires both employees and customers who are dining indoors, using gyms and attending performances to show they have been vaccinated against Covid-19.
The city is establishing a health pass called the “Key to NYC” pass for proof of vaccinations, and it is the first in the nation to establish such mandates, per The New York Times. Monday, de Blasio said he will not reimpose indoor mask mandates, instead "strongly" recommending masks indoors for all people, regardless of vaccination status.
City workers are required to get at least one dose by September or undergo weekly testing. Similar rules apply to federal workers, and both Google and Facebook are requiring vaccinations when workers come back to the office. Morgan Stanley and BlackRock have said people working in person will need to be vaccinated.
