MGM Resorts sent a letter to its employees announcing vaccination against COVID-19 as a condition of employment. The mandate will affect current salaried employees, as well as both salaried and hourly new hires who are not exclusively working from home.
More than 20 US giants, such as United Airlines, Google and Walmart, announced earlier this month mandatory COVID-19 vaccinations applicable for all or some of their employees. The move comes at a time when the vaccination against the virus continues, but the pandemic is yet to go away.
Looking at Nevada, after a gradual easing of COVID-19-related restrictions, last month, the state reinstated its mandatory wearing of masks. Currently, the mask mandate is applicable for most of Nevada’s counties, including Clark County, where Las Vegas is located.
Now, MGM Resorts, one of the biggest gaming operators in the country, announced that it requires COVID-19 vaccination as a condition for employment. The company announced the latest mandate on Monday this week in a letter sent to its employees. “Our guests and employees deserve to know that we are doing everything in our power to keep them safe,” outlined MGM Resorts.
MGM explained that the recently announced COVID-19 vaccination mandate as a condition for employment is applicable for all salaried employees and new hires in the US. The company said that all salaried employees who are not working exclusively from home must be vaccinated against COVID-19 by October 15. Additionally, MGM said that the new hires, both hourly and salary, who do not work exclusively from home, will have to present proof of vaccination before starting work, effective from August 30.
The initial mandate will likely affect more than 6,000 MGM Resorts employees in eight US states. Those are Nevada, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Maryland, New York, New Jersey, Ohio and Michigan. Overall, MGM has more than 57,000 employees and, according to the Nevada Independent, the company may be planning to expand the mandatory vaccination policy to include hourly employees. Such a move will undoubtedly result in a boost in terms of the overall vaccination in Nevada and across the country. With that in mind, MGM became the first gaming operator in the US to introduce a mandatory vaccination against COVID-19 as a condition of employment.
Bill Hornbuckle, MGM’s president and CEO, acknowledged that introducing the mandate was not an easy decision for the company. He outlined that some employees may find this as an “unwelcome development.” However, Hornbuckle stressed that MGM Resorts is determined to contribute to curbing the spread of the virus and counter the COVID-19 case spikes. According to him, vaccination is the most effective method to achieve this.
I firmly believe we must do all that we can to bring this public health emergency to an end.”
Bill Hornbuckle, president and CEO, MGM Resorts
MGM’s CEO revealed that he has spoken to families who lost loved ones to COVID-19 and that he has seen “firsthand the devastation it can cause.” Moreover, Hornbuckle said that the impact of the pandemic on communities, industry and economies was seen by everyone. He outlined that MGM will continue to make vaccinations easy and seamless and at the same time, people who are still hesitating will receive the necessary information. In conclusion, Hornbuckle thanked the communities, guests and employees for their tireless efforts and commitment.
