CNN terminates 3 employees who came to office unvaccinated

CNN has terminated three employees after they came to the office unvaccinated despite the network’s vaccine requirement for those who come to work in person.

The announcement of the terminations came from CNN President Jeff Zucker, according to a memo he sent to employees on Thursday seen by The Hill.

“In the past week, we have been made aware of three employees who were coming to the office unvaccinated,” the memo states.

“Let me be clear — we have a zero-tolerance policy on this,” Zucker said. 

CNN terminated “three employees who were coming to the office unvaccinated,” per memo from Jeff Zucker. “We have a zero-tolerance policy on this.”

— Michael M. Grynbaum (@grynbaum) August 5, 2021

Zucker said the company had gone off the honor system for letting employees back in the office and has not required proof of vaccination.

However, employees are still required to be fully vaccinated against the coronavirus to work either in the office or in the field.

Zucker said it is expected that proof of vaccination will become a requirement “of the WarnerMedia Passcard process” in the upcoming weeks. 

“You need to be vaccinated to come to the office. And you need to be vaccinated to work in the field, with other employees, regardless of whether you enter an office or not. Period,” Zucker stated. 

Zucker also announced that the official return date for CNN offices has been pushed back from Sept. 7 to early or mid-October amid rising COVID-19 cases across the country.

“This was not an easy decision, and there is much to consider. The bottom line is that, based on the information that is available today, and what experts expect to evolve with the virus in the weeks ahead, September 7 no longer feels appropriate,” Zucker said.

Zucker also said those who do go to the offices in Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., and Atlanta must wear face masks regardless of vaccination status starting Thursday. 

Vaccine requirements have gained traction among companies as the delta variant drives up coronavirus cases around the country.

Other news media companies including The Washington Post and the Washington Examiner have implemented a vaccine requirement for its employees to return to the office.