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Coffee giant Starbucks is receiving backlash online after the company decided to scrap vaccine regulations. The revelation came after the Supreme Court rejected the Biden administration's workplace vaccine mandate.
The company announced that their employees would no longer be mandated to be vaccinated before February 9 or take a weekly COVID test, resulting in #boycottstarbucks to trend on social media.
Starbucks removes mandate for COVID vaccination
On January 3, the company mandated all its employees to provide vaccination proof before February 9 or get weekly tested post the date.
The rule came following the current assembly's vaccine mandate, requiring organizations to ensure their employees are vaccinated or covid negative. However, it got rejected by the supreme court about a week ago. The court ruled,
“Although Covid-19 is a risk that occurs in many workplaces, it is not an occupational hazard in most.”
Following the Supreme Court's verdict, CEO John Culver said, “We respect the court’s ruling and will comply,” disengaging the vaccine mandate rules.
A company spokesperson told The Independent that the company had not changed the policy on its own and was following guidelines provided by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).
Customers disagree with the new regulations
Many customers were against the cancelation of the rule, questioning the safety of the outlets, and many decided to avoid purchasing from the brand, making the #boycottstarbucks trend on Twitter.
Meanwhile, the brand also found supporters who called the company's decision "medical choice freedom."
After the uproar on social media, the company tried to damage-control the situation with tweets reassuring that 90 percent of their employees had already been vaccinated. The company will keep promoting safety precautions in its workplace.
Biden's administration slammed the Supreme Court's verdict and announced that the decision is risking the health of citizens who will consume from unvaccinated establishments. Jen Psaki, press secretary of the White House, said:
“The Supreme Court’s decision on the OSHA mandate essentially means that in this pandemic it is up to individual employers to determine whether their workplaces will be safe for employees, and whether their businesses will be safe for consumers.”
It is yet to be seen how many establishments will continue to follow the workplace vaccine mandate.
