Thread regarding AT&T layoffs

I am waiting it out. I am FT work at home management with no requirement to go to an office, as there are none close by. I had COVID 22 mos ago, recovered without hospitalization (was just like a bad flu), and I haven't so much as had a sniffle since then. My vaxxed best friends nearby caught COVID 3 mos after their last shot. Both were hospitalized. My natural immunity is working fine. I don't need a shot. I don't get a flu shot either. I have an autoimmune condition that my medication seems to further support the natural antibodies without overwhelming my system. So, those of you trying to portray people as "whiney", "MAGATs", "anti-vaxxers" is simply false narratives that benefit ideologues. I'm none of these things. I still do not believe in mandates for all for a virus with the high recovery rates for 4/5 of the population. Look up flu mortality annually. People will always die, unfortunately. This is not a pandemic any longer. This is another endemic virus that will seasonally cause problems like the flu regardless. If in 5-10 years time there is a wealth of data to support taking a vaccine that far outweighs not taking it, then I'll gladly get mine less than 2 yrs study and no understanding of long-term effects? I think it's prudent for rational thinkers to question if it's right for them.

@4zuk+1cAK9WXk says the person probably WFH trying to weasel their way out of coming back to the office

@4zuk+1cAK9WXk Why you talk to us about not getting a shot. Talk to all those people sitting at home collecting unemployment and refusing to take jobs that are trying to hire them.

Never seen so many people scared of getting a shot. Instead of trying to weasel your way out of it, try growing a pair and getting the shot.

If AT&T can do this, then why can't they ask everyone's pregnancy status and require them to get an ab-----n to keep working at AT&T? No one is forcing them to do it. They can work somewhere else. It's just some cells, and it's just an invasive medical procedure, like an injection. It's only fair cause it's raising the insurance costs of all the other employees and it's a major distraction from their focus on the job. They end up taking a lot of time off in addition to the maternity leave. It would not even be a gender based policy since men can get pregnant too. It's their job, their choice.

Day 22 since submitting my request and still no response. Submitted the day the announcement came out and no communication from the company. If this is acceptable then I guess I will stop responding to requests in my role and miss all my deadlines.

Just came back and here’s the link this time ! For anyone who voted the post down …

https://blog.techstaffer.com/att-requiring-employees-to-be-vaccinated-upon-in-person-return?utm_term=&utm_campaign=%5BTRGT%5D+ATT+Layoff&utm_source=adwords&utm_medium=ppc&hsa_acc=9171179278&hsa_cam=14407750223&hsa_grp=135039148468&hsa_ad=541471730858&hsa_src=d&hsa_tgt=&hsa_kw=&hsa_mt=&hsa_net=adwords&hsa_ver=3&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIgZv97ZLi8gIVKhazAB0deQMHEAEYASAAEgJfVPD_BwE

So, I just opened the page to see what the updates were under this post … and would you believe it was a tech blog that came
Up as the ad for ATT , asking if it was legal for them to mandate , etc . Then ,
Go to the page and it seems it’s a blog FULL of posts , seemingly to REPLY to this board! The higher ups are watching guys. Hopefully they will actually TAKE HEED to what the true feelings of employees are .

If T really cared for the safety of its employees, they wouldn’t have exposed them to customers on a face to face level. Even now, with the mandate. How is it they didn’t include the Lv1 when they are in the front lines? T has this so backwards its not even funny…. lets mandate a vaccine for all the employees who WFH, who have 0 interaction with customers, but lets leave everyone else who is in danger out of the mandate….lol… but hey Its safety first right …

@3lrv+1cAK9WXk

I am going to wait for more information to come out about mu before I get too concerned about it, but if this turns out to be true, that the mu variant escapes the current vaccines, then I will take the vaccine for it as soon as I can. Pfizer has already developed a vaccine (in Germany now) tweaked for delta, and I intend to get it as soon as it is available.

Many months ago,before our current vaccines were available, it was said that we might need to get shots once or twice per year, depending on which variants emerge. At that time, I accepted that this would probably be our new reality. I don't like it, but here we are.

I do not live in fear of the virus, but I do take reasonable steps to reduce my risk and protect my health. Being vaccinated is the easiest and most effective.

So, to answer your question: for now, I would be willing to get 2 or 3 shots per year, expecting that at some point this will settle down, and we may get a yearly shot, similar to a flu shot that is tweaked every year for whatever is circulating.

New 'mu' coronavirus variant could escape vaccine-induced immunity, WHO says
Rachael Rettner 9 hrs ago
CHECK THIS OUT. Here's the link!!!
https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/medical/new-mu-coronavirus-variant-could-escape-vaccine-induced-immunity-who-says/ar-AAO1tgC?ocid=uxbndlbing

Mu has entered the variant chat , and it is completely immune to the "vaccine" . To those who are vaccinated, how many shots are you willing to get? Im asking with sincerity.

some religious exemptions will be approved and some denied. The denied will sue and open a can of legal worms for ATT. Lawyers will parse through all the denials and approvals and uncover the discriminatory, illegal practices we all know ATT engages in. Just look at how the company has openly targeted older employees in the past few years.

This place knows how to divert attention away from its failing business like no other outfit. Stankey will get his $15M and the rest of the C-Suite will get theirs no matter how much of a train-wreck this company is.

@2hid+1cAK9WXk
"you will be subject to discipline."

back in the day that would have said "you will be subject to discipline, up to and including dismissal".

If we received the 14 day letter, then hopefully we are actually "moving forward" in the process. Best of luck.

@2hid+1cAK9WXk Did you request an exception due to your religious beliefs?

reply: @2cjq+1cAK9WXk work from home status 5+ years

@2hid+1cAK9WXk Did you request a religious exemption or just request not to go in because of your wfh status.

I received this last Friday.

"employee first name",

The health and safety of our employees is a top priority. Requiring the vaccine for most managerial employees was not a decision we made lightly; however, as the COVID-19 variants surge across the country, we felt it was necessary to help keep everyone safe.

Our workplace designations (office, flex, virtual) do not exempt you from the vaccination policy. Our business policies are applicable regardless of workplace occupancy status. And just because your job doesn’t require you to go into the office on a regular basis, doesn’t mean you will never need to go into an AT&T workplace or attend an in-person company event. Indeed, it is anticipated that our virtual workers may need to go into an office location 1-5 times a month. Virtual Workforce Policy

Accordingly, your request for a special exemption to the COVID-19 Vaccination Policy is denied. If you are in a job that requires you to enter an AT&T work location, attend an in-person company event (onsite or offsite), you are required to be fully vaccinated by October 11, 2021. After that date, if business needs require you to come into an AT&T work location or attend an in-person company event (onsite or offsite), and you are not vaccinated, you will be subject to discipline.

Thank you,

Vandy Meyer

Director – Labor Relations

So att gives employees a deadline and if it’s not met they fire you. But att gives us a deadline of 14 days for our request to be processed and they miss the deadline without any explanation or updates. This company is a joke.

I got an email forwarded to me by an avp showing an update that they are backing off the demand for vax for FTT that don't have a reqt to go into the office. That's basically what all the written comms had said but we were being told verbally it was reqd for all mgmt employees in our org even if we were ftt and had not been in an att bldg for 5 or more years. the threat was that they would consider it a cobc violation so punishment coould include dismissal.

I applied on 8/13, they said it could take up to 14 days. around 4pm on 8/27 they replied saying it was still in progress.

You can believe the vaccination does not work. Do it at another company. Bye.

Hope to rid a bunch of malcontents soon. Especially the ones that think they are irreplacable. Gonna be fun.

As far as religious exemptions being difficult to get - the law is very clear. You do not need to have approval from the Pope or your Pastor. You do not have to agree 100% with you church’s stance. It is a personally held religious belief. Period. And as far as not going to the hospital if an unvaccinated person gets sick - everyone is entitled to medical care. The COVID treatment are not experimental - oxygen, proven and tested antibiotics, vitamin c, d, and zinc. I am sure you vaxxed folks would have no problem with a dr and nurse who wasn’t vaxxed because of theor personal beliefs saving your life now would you.

If you refuse the vaccine and get sick, please stay true to your principles, and do NOT go to the hospital for an "experimental" COVID treatment. You folks are unnecessarily overwhelming the hospitals, putting all of us at risk.

For those of you who are I'll just get a job somewhere else most technology companies and large companies in general have the same or similar vaccination requirements. For Catholics religious exemptions are difficult because the pope said you can get them. And I believe medical exemptions are you can't take them because they're verifiably dangerous or can impact a current condition not I don't feel like it.

They are stuck. Must approve exemptions. They do not have enough staff or lawyers to go through all these cases or assess the business impact of losing this many employees. This is about a political agenda, not layoffs. They do not need this to do layoffs.

Still waiting on any response-over 2 weeks

All people that I know for a fact that they applied for an exemption are still awaiting response on their case. None of them got any responses yet.

Wait it out patiently. Don't give up under pressure. Return the pressure back to the T.

This is not the time to quit!

I posted this on another thread but it should be repeated.

I'm not going to explain how exactly to do it but you want to put yourself in the position where the company either approves your exemption request or they violate Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act by firing you. Under no circumstances quit. If your exemption is denied immediately file a complaint with the EEOC and state and local equivalents.

Per Title VII: It is unlawful for an employer: “(1) to fail or refuse to hire or to discharge any individual, or otherwise to discriminate against any individual with respect to his compensation, terms, conditions, or privileges of employment, because of such individual’s race, color, religion, s-x, or national origin; or (2) to limit, segregate, or classify his employees or applicants for employment in any way which would deprive or tend to deprive any individual of employment opportunities or otherwise adversely affect his status as an employee, because of such individual’s race, color, religion, s-x, or national origin.”

Been two weeks. Over 1/2 of my group filed for exemptions. All of us will take the termination over the jab. They cannot afford to fire us. We are 2 months behind and contract help is even further behind. They just got more funding to do more work. They need is way more than we need them.

not sure this failed company can afford to continue paying severance packages like it has been these last 5+ years. Many 100's of millions already gone and likely more to come.
Maybe they think this is a way to get rid of folks with no financial liability, but it could backfire (like everything does). If they approve some exemptions and disallow others, it could be open-season on ATT. Maybe they don't care.

They have openly targeted old people and gotten away with it so far. ATT is just an extension of the federal government anyway, only less capable (if that's possible).

Hello 20,000 green-card hires!

The company is threatening termination, however.

Agreed, though; don't resign. We'll see how this all plays out come October. Just be prepared for the worst.

It goes without saying, it's probably time to start floating the resume out there just in case the company decides to fire employees over a private, personal health decision. Luckily, everyone seems to be hiring.

Still waiting on a definitive answer if I need to submit one. I'm 100% virtual but I've heard I need to and I've also been told I don't. Nobody seems to know for sure. I've got it ready if I'm told I do.

If your exemption request is denied you still have options. NEVER resign, not ever. Nowhere does any of the company communications state you’ll be fired.

Stop believing the rubbish people post on this forum. Read everything for yourself and don’t make assumptions.

That’s suspicious that it’s taking so long . I hope they aren’t waiting until the last minute on purpose to give people next to no recourse to get appeals etc and just have only the jab or resign as an option .

or you could stop wasting everyone's time and get the vaccine that 200 million people have gotten with no issue.

Jab…Jab….Jab

Applied last week. Tracking said it could take 2 weeks. Also heard the JA are a bit overwhelmed with the # of requests received. Good.

I supervise someone who filed an accommodation. Was told today by HR that it will take 3+ weeks to get a decision...its been 2 already.