Starting this week, MGM Resorts International requires all unvaccinated hourly workers to fork over $38 for each onsite Covid-19 test, up from the $15 rate the company demanded starting in July. MGM pays twice the amount of the new co-payment, reported the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
Workers can get tested elsewhere, but self-testing results will not be accepted. Employees who don’t comply with the new protocol will be placed on unpaid leave and will not be able to work, said a letter from the company.
CEO Bill Hornbuckle noted in the letter that 84 percent of the company’s hourly workforce has been vaccinated.
“As I’ve stressed all year, if you’ve not yet been vaccinated, now’s the time,” Hornbuckle wrote. “If you’ve not been vaccinated, please make a plan to protect yourself, your loved ones, our guests, and your teammates from the virus.”
Hornbuckle said the company decided to make the change while they review the new Occupational Safety and Health Administration emergency order requiring private-sector employers with more than 100 employees to either mandate vaccines for staff or enact weekly testing requirements. Companies have until December 4 to finalize those policies.
MGM implemented a vaccine mandate in October for its roughly 6,000 salaried workers nationwide, and 98 percent of those workers complied with the October 15 deadline.
