Facebook and Google are to demand their U.S. employees be immunized against Covid before returning to offices, reports said.
In an email sent to Google's more than 130,000 employees worldwide, chief executive Sundar Pichai said the company already had high inoculation rates.
Pichai said this was why Google was comfortable bringing staff back to offices. Workers will have to start reporting back Oct. 18, The Washington Post said.
"Getting vaccinated is one of the most important ways to keep ourselves and our communities healthy in the months ahead," Pichai said.
Google plans to give employees at least 30 days' notice before it transitions to a full return, according to CNN.
Facebook is following Google. Facebook will make exceptions for medical and some other reasons.
"As our offices reopen, we'll be requiring anyone coming to work at any of our U.S. campuses to be vaccinated," Lori Goler, Facebook vice president of People, told CNBC.
Many companies are still trying to figure out exactly how and when to bring staff back to the workplace after almost 16 months of telecommuting.
Amazon and Apple, have declined to make vaccines compulsory.
Microsoft won't make vaccination mandatory for workplaces but top company officials recommend it.
The U.S. Justice Department said federal law didn't prevent private companies and federal agencies from mandating employees be inoculated.
A number of hospital and health care systems across the U.S. have already made it compulsory for - which has been met by protests and lawsuits in some cases, Forbes reported.
According to the Centers for Disease Control, 164 million people are fully immunized in the U.S., or 49.4% of the population.
