Exclusive: Newsmax Tells Staff It Will Implement Vaccine Mandate

Newsmax CEO Chris Ruddy. Brendan Smialowski/Getty Images.

A vaccine mandate is coming to Newsmax.

The conservative news network informed staffers of the move on Thursday, in a staff-wide email obtained by Mediaite. Newsmax cited the implementation of Covid rules by Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) as its reason for instituting the mandate.

The company decree requires all employees be fully vaccinated by Jan. 4, 2022, or else they will be forced to undergo a weekly Covid test and wear a mask in the office.

“To ensure that we are in compliance, we require that all vaccinated employees submit a copy of their vaccination card,” the email informed staff.

The move is unlikely to be well-received by the network’s conservative hosts. A number of Newsmax personalities have denounced vaccine mandates on a regular basis over the past several weeks.

On Thursday night, Newsmax host Steve Cortes notably railed against mandates — calling them an example of “dictatorial rule” under President Joe Biden.

“There is zero, and I mean zero, moral or ethical obligation for anyone to be compelled to get vaccinated,” Cortes said. He added that mandates are “insane workplace discrimination.”

According to the company email, the mandate that Cortes bills as “insane workplace discrimination” is coming to his workplace in the next few weeks.

It remains to be seen whether the network’s conservative hosts will take any action to protest the mandate. Recently, Fox News host and syndicated radio host Dan Bongino was absent from his radio show for an extended period amid a dispute over the vaccine mandate implemented by Cumulus Media, which distributes his daily radio show. Bongino returned to the air Thursday, but said his talks with Cumulus are at a “stalemate.”

Watch above, via Newsmax.