Boeing joins other federal contractors in dropping its vaccine mandate.

Boeing said on Friday that it had suspended a vaccination requirement for employees after a court blocked enforcement of an executive order by President Biden instructing federal contractors to impose such mandates. The announcement came after several other companies, including Amtrak, General Electric, Union Pacific and BNSF Railway, recently dropped their vaccine mandates, citing the court order. Some employers have said that the vaccine mandate has made it harder to hire people at a time when workers are in short supply. Boeing said that about 92% of its more than 110,000 US employees were fully vaccinated or had received exemptions from the mandate. Overall, about 72% of all adult Americans have received the one or two shots of coronavirus vaccines regulators have determined provide protection from the virus. Some companies that required employees to be vaccinated months ago, like United Airlines, a Boeing customer, have said that close to 100% of their employees have been vaccinated. “After careful review, Boeing has suspended its vaccination requirement in line with a federal court’s decision prohibiting enforcement of the federal contractor executive order and a number of state laws,” the company said. But in a note to employees, Boeing also strongly encouraged all workers to get a vaccine and booster shots, highlighting how companies are struggling to strike a balance on coronavirus vaccines, an issue that has become freighted with politics as many conservatives rail against mandates. Managers are contending with two contradictory pressures: from workers who do not want to be required to get the vaccine and from employees worried about getting sick or infecting vulnerable family members and friends.<br/>