DETROIT – Ford Motor would require U.S. salaried workers to be vaccinated by Dec. 8 or face unpaid depart, CNBC has discovered.

The automaker on Tuesday despatched out a message to Ford’s roughly 32,000 salaried workers concerning the mandate. Ford will think about non secular and medical exemptions for workers who cannot get the vaccines, in response to firm spokeswoman Monique Brentley.

At the moment, workers who refuse to get vaccinated and would not have an authorized medical or non secular lodging shall be placed on unpaid depart with job safety for as much as 30 days, the corporate mentioned in an emailed assertion. It was instantly unclear what occurs after these 30 days.

“The well being and security of our workforce stays our high precedence and we’ve been very inspired by the assist of our workers to adjust to our protocols, together with the greater than 84-percent of U.S. salaried workers who’re already vaccinated,” Brentley mentioned in a separate emailed assertion. ”As we proceed to place measures in place to guard our group, Ford will now require most U.S. salaried workers to be totally vaccinated towards COVID-19 by Dec. 8, which additionally aligns to federal contractor pointers.”

Components of Ford’s enterprise are categorized as being a federal contractor, in response to Brentley.

Federal contractors may have broad leeway to implement President Joe Biden’s Covid vaccine mandate, in response to new steerage the White Home launched Monday

The vaccine requirement comes because the Occupational Security and Well being Administration additionally places the ending touches on a separate rule requiring companies with 100 or extra workers – estimated to cowl about two-thirds of the non-public sector workforce – to implement a compulsory Covid vaccination coverage except they create a plan that offers employees the choice to get examined usually.

Automakers have been reluctant to mandate Covid vaccinations forward of the brand new rule, which is able to cowl their giant, unionized workforces as nicely.

Each Ford and Common Motors beforehand required salaried workers to submit their vaccination standing. Ford additionally voluntarily opened the submission course of to its hourly employees, that are represented by the United Auto Employees union.

GM didn’t instantly reply for remark relating to any adjustments in its vaccination insurance policies for salaried employees.

The UAW has inspired members to get vaccinated, however it has not been supportive of constructing vaccines obligatory for employees. As a substitute, counting on its greater than 400,000 members to personally select to get vaccinated.