Internal documents reviewed by CNBC have shown that Google has informed its employees that they will not get paid their salary - and even lose their jobs - if they do not adhere to the company's COVID-19 vaccination policy.
Staff who had not disclosed their vaccination status, submitted proof of immunization, or applied for a medical or religious exemption by Dec. 3 will be contacted by the company for confirmation about their vaccination status, a memo showed.
While the majority of the tech sector continues to delay return-to-work plans and businesses prepare for a more flexible days ahead, Google is making it compulsory for its employees to report to physical offices three days a week at some point in 2022.
Additionally, the memo stated that anyone entering a Google building must be "completely vaccinated" or have an approved accommodation to work or visit.
Google's latest directive comes despite a federal judge temporarily suspending U.S. President Joe Biden's vaccine mandate for major enterprises, which was scheduled to take effect on Jan. 18.
In July, Google announced that staff must be completely inoculated before returning to work. Google intended to compel employees to return to work at least a couple days a week, but postponed that requirement in December in response to a new rise in COVID-19 cases.
Since the middle of the year, Google and parent firm Alphabet have been adamantly advocating for full immunization.
Meanwhile, there are currently 51,136,441 COVID-19 cases in the U.S., with 821,334 deaths and 40,239,511 recovered.
Employees have not universally accepted the vaccine obligation. Several hundred Google employees signed and disseminated a manifesto against the company's rules, which the company's leadership stated would apply to all employees, including remote workers, who engage in direct or indirect federal government contracting.
Google's latest advisory details various alternatives for those who do not wish to be vaccinated. If there are positions at Google that don't conflict with the executive order, Google employees are encouraged to "explore."
Employees with tasks that fall outside the purview of the executive order but may be done remotely will be able to work permanently in the future, the company said.
Asked about the CNBC article by Reuters, Google did not explicitly respond but stated that it is "committed to doing everything we can" to help employees who are eligible to receive vaccinations do so.
Furthermore, they can request exemptions for religious or medical reasons, which Google previously stated would be given on a case-by-case basis.
