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Disney’s Bob Chapek, Other CEOs Meet With Joe Biden On Vaccine Requirements

Ted Johnson
·2 min read

UPDATE, 11:30 AM PT: Walt Disney Co. CEO Bob Chapek joined with other business leaders at the White House for a meeting with President Joe Biden on vaccine mandates.

Although representatives from Fox were not present, Biden again called out the company for instituting its own vaccine guidelines, including disclosure of their vaccine status or submitting to daily testing.

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Biden said that it will “take a little bit” for the Labor Department, through the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, to put a regulation in place mandating that businesses with 100 or more employees ensure that their workforce is vaccinated or that they go through regular Covid testing.

“The vaccine requirements work, and more companies are instituting them,” Biden said, according to a pool report. “Even Fox News is requiring it. I am not being facetious when I say that, but it’s interesting that they’ve stepped forward and done that as well.”

PREVIOUSLY: Walt Disney Co. CEO Bob Chapek will be among the CEOs participating in a meeting with President Joe Biden to discuss vaccine requirements, as the White House promotes a new pending Covid-19 mandate.

Disney announced a vaccine requirement in July for salaried and non-union U.S. employees, and later reached a union agreement.

Other CEOs participating in the meeting include Greg Adams, the chairman and CEO of Kaiser Permanente; Madeline Bell, president and CEO of Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia; Josh Bolten, president and CEO of Business Roundtable; Roz Brewer, CEO of Walgreens Boots Alliance; Tim Boyle, president and CEO of Columbia Sportswear; Molly Moon Neitzel, founder and CEO of Molly’s Moon Homemade Ice Cream; Brad Smith, president of Microsoft; and William Tate IV, president of Louisiana State University. The meeting will be held at the Old Executive Office Building on White House grounds, but will be a mix of virtual and in-person participation.

Last week, Biden announced that the Occupational Safety and Health Administration was working on a policy that would require businesses with 100 or more employees to ensure that their workforce is vaccinated or subject to weekly Covid testing.

Biden has cited Disney’s vaccine requirements as well as those at Netflix and Fox. In his speech last week, he noted that Fox, the parent of Fox News, has such a policy, even as some of the news network personalities have railed against the White House mandates. A White House official on Wednesday noted reports that Fox sent out a memo on Tuesday in which it said that 90% of its full-time employees are fully vaccinated, and that those who have not gotten the shot or have declined to share their status will be subject to daily testing.

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