Fox News employees located in the network’s New York City offices will now be required to have at least one vaccination shot by Dec. 27 if they want to work in the office, according to an internal memo sent to the company’s staffers.
“All workers in NYC who perform in-person work at an office location, including Fox employees, must show proof of receiving at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine,” the Fox Corp. memo, first obtained by The Washington Post’s Jeremy Barr, stated. Fox Corp. is the parent company of Fox News.
New York City-based Fox staffers will no longer be allowed to skip the vaccination requirement by submitting a negative COVID-19 test, per the new guideline.
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The memo also places the blame for the new work requirements solely on New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, who recently implemented a citywide mandate for all private employers.
“The timing and ramifications of this mandate are very unfortunate, but we must take timely actions to be compliant by 12/27,” the company added. “This mandate by the Mayor prohibits unvaccinated employees from working at Fox New York offices as of 12/27.”
A Fox Corp. spokesperson confirmed the memo’s contents to The Daily Beast.
Outside of New York City, Fox staffers are not technically subjected to a vaccine mandate but must adhere to the company’s stringent protocols, which require employees to either provide their vaccination status or submit to daily COVID-19 tests in order to work in the office. The Biden administration’s requirements for large private employers, meanwhile, only calls for weekly testing.
When announcing the company’s vaccine policy this past fall, Fox Corp. human resources chief Kevin Lord boasted that over 90 percent of Fox’s full-time employees had been fully vaccinated.
While the company has been expressed pride about the vaccination status of its staff, Fox News hosts and commentators have regularly railed against vaccine mandates and repeatedly questioned the safety and efficacy of the COVID-19 shots.
Besides likening vaccine requirements to “fascism” and “apartheid,” Fox News personalities have also defended the practice of obtaining and using fake vaccination cards. And whenever publicly asked about the company’s vaccine rules, hosts have either clammed up or thrown tantrums.
