Developer Related Midwest requiring COVID-19 vaccines for employees
The Related Companies, including its Chicago-based arm Related Midwest, is requiring employees to get at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine by the end of August.
“Being vaccinated will be a requirement to work at Related,” the company said in a memo to employees. “There are exemptions from this policy for bona fide medical or religious reasons only.”
Those with vaccine exemptions will be required to undergo regular COVID-19 testing, according to the company memo.
Related first announced its vaccination plan in April, when the company said it intended to make the vaccine mandatory once there was enough supply.
In May, Related set a June 1 deadline for corporate staff nationwide to comply with the policy, and according to the memo more than 1,000 were vaccinated. Remaining site and building staff are now required to receive at least one dose of the vaccine by August 31.
Employers can require workers to get vaccinated, but employees can decline because of a disability or sincerely held religious belief, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has determined. Among the employers mandating vaccines for workers are hospital systems including Rush University Medical Center, Loyola Medicine, University of Chicago Medicine and UI Health, which includes University of Illinois Hospital.
Other companies, such as United Airlines, are encouraging, but not requiring, workers to get vaccinated.
