UPDATED July 29, 2021, 7:15 p.m.: Nonunion employees of the Durst Organization have a decision to make: get vaccinated or get a new job.
The development firm gave its corporate employees until Sept. 6 — the day after Labor Day — to be vaccinated against Covid. If they are not, those employees will be fired, Crain’s reported.
The only exemptions from the policy are for religious or medical reasons. A Durst spokesperson told The Real Deal that employees need to have completed their vaccination series, meaning two weeks past their final shot, by the deadline. Employees were notified of the policy in late June.
Durst employs around 350 corporate employees. The company also employs about 700 union members, for whom the new policy will not apply. Tenants at Durst Organization buildings can make their own decisions about vaccination requirements.
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Earlier this month, the Department of Justice ruled that businesses could mandate vaccination for employees. A number of companies besides Durst have taken that step, while others have postponed planned returns to the offices amid the surging Delta variant.
State employees of New York are required to be vaccinated by the same Sept. 6 date or be subject to weekly Covid testing. New York City employees have until Sept. 13.
Other companies, such as Apple, are choosing to postpone a return to the office as they wait to see how the Delta variant continues to affect case counts.
[Crain’s] — Holden Walter-Warner
Editor’s Note: This story has been updated with more details about the Durst Organization’s vaccination policy.