T-Mobile, one of Johnson County’s biggest private employers, is requiring all its corporate employees to get vaccinated against COVID-19 or potentially face losing their jobs, according to an internal company memo.
That includes employees at T-Mobile’s Aspiria campus in Overland Park, the Kansas City Business Journal reported Monday.
The memo sent Friday to employees was first reported by the blog The T-MO Report. The Post has confirmed the memo was sent to employees last week.
What the memo says
The company announced the new policy on Friday in an email from its human resource chief that went out to all U.S.-based staff members, including those in the Kansas City area.
“Data clearly and consistently shows that vaccines offer our best chance at preventing illness, serious illness, and death from COVID-19. With the wellbeing of our community top of mind, we’re asking everyone at T-Mobile to be fully vaccinated by April 2,” the memo says.
But some employees may have to take action before that.
The memo says that employees who have yet to be vaccinated must show proof they’ve taken action to get the first dose of a vaccine by Feb. 21, or they will be placed on unpaid leave.
If anyone who the policy applies to is not fully vaccinated by April 2, they will then be “separated from T-Mobile,” according to the memo.
The mandate will not apply to T-Mobile’s retail stores employees, and field technicians are also exempt from the policy.
“We have weighed this issue carefully with the benefit of input from our medical advisors and insights from many other large companies with similar policies,” the memo says, “and it’s clear that this is the right thing to do to help save lives and prevent serious illness. While we hope affected employees will be vaccinated and return to their workplace, we understand that for some, this means you must make a deeply personal decision.
“Uniting around this plan helps us all move forward with greater clarity and safety for our community.”
Formerly the Sprint headquarters before the two companies merged in 2020, the Aspiria campus hosts about 5,000 employees for the cellular provider.
T-Mobile is currently the biggest employer in Overland Park, according to the Overland Park Chamber of Commerce.
Employees impacted by the new rule will have to submit proof of vaccination.
Once they are verified as vaccinated, workers will receive a digital “Magenta Pass” that signifies they are clear to stay employed with T-Mobile.
