I recently graduated college in a STEM field. I live in California, and I am looking for work. Now that Joe Biden has set his January 4 deadline for the COVID vaccine mandate for companies, I’m racking my brains as what I should do. I hope that someone here can give me some advice. I heard that a federal court in Louisiana halted the vaccine mandates, though I have a bad feeling that this won’t be the last we see of the federal mandate. Not yet, at least. I heard that Biden is ignoring the ruling, which I am not particularly surprised to hear. Here are some options that I was considering.
Option 1: I could keep applying to jobs like normal and just choosing to not apply to employers that state that vaccines are mandatory.
Option 2: I could wait a week or two before applying to jobs to see which employers have decided they want to implement vaccine mandates.
Option 3: I could wait until the January 4 deadline before applying to jobs again in order to see which companies are complying with the mandate. During this time, I might try to improve a skill that I can use for a side hustle in the future.
Option 4: I can keep applying to jobs, but only those with fewer than 100 employees. I’m not sure about this one since I heard the Biden is going to extend his mandate to all companies in the future, not just those with 100 or more employees.
Option 5: I can apply to jobs that only do remote work or to jobs out of my state. I live in California, unfortunately. Leaving the state is only feasible if I have a source of income. It’s difficult enough to get a job within my state. I would imagine that getting a job elsewhere would even harder, especially since I recently graduate college and have never had a full-time job.
Option 6: I can wait until the mandate has been found unconstitutional by SCOTUS. I don’t know how reliable this is. SCOTUS might make a ruling before 2021 ends or halfway through 2022, for all I know. And if it’s found unconstitutional, I don’t know if employers here in California will stop mandating vaccines.
Another thing I should mention is that I voluntarily got vaccinated already, so I don’t have to worry about being forced to get a vaccine. I just don’t want to work for an employer who forces others to get vaccinated.
Is there way to determine which companies impose vaccine and mask mandates on their employees? I know that some of them simply say so in the job description. Other companies don’t mention it, but is there a way to determine if the mandates are still being imposed? In California, most companies likely enforce mask mandates. I don’t know about the vaccine mandate, though. Any advice on this subject would be appreciated.
Furthermore, there is a very high probability that I will be flying to another country in January for a month to get a medical procedure done and to visit aging family members. I heard that vaccinations are required to fly internationally, correct me if I’m wrong. I might not try to get a job before my trip. If I manage to get a job before January, I will likely end up rescheduling and not going.
Apply for a job working at home. Remote work is not bad, and you are at least much less likely to run into mandate issues.