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EMPLOYERS CAN MANDATE A COVID-19 VACCINE
COVID-19: An Employer's Role in Vaccination:
As cases of the 2019 novel coronavirus (COVID-19) decrease and availability of the COVID-19 vaccine becomes more prevalent, employers face the daunting task of creating safe return to work plans. These plans often involve encouraging COVID-19 vaccination and, in some cases, mandating vaccination before employees may return to in-person work.
EMPLOYERS CAN MANDATE A COVID-19 VACCINE
On Dec. 16, 2020, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) issued guidance clarifying that employers are lawfully permitted to require employees to be vaccinated before returning to work, subject to several exceptions.
These exceptions include:
1. Disability considerations
2. Religious accommodations
3. Mandatory vaccination policies trigger additional obligations under the ADA and other laws[...] Many employers are currently encouraging but not requiring vaccinations. This is especially the case in jurisdictions where vaccinations are not available to all adults. A policy of encouragement relieves the employer of the obligation to conduct disability and religious related accommodation analyses. Nevertheless, if employers offer incentives to employees to get vaccinated, like additional paid time off, gift cards, etc., accommodations may need to be made for those employees who are not eligible for the incentive due to a disability or religious belief that prevents them for receiving the vaccine.
[...] Whether or not an employer elects to mandate vaccines now, it is advisable for employers to communicate with their workforce on their proposed strategy and expectations with respect to vaccinations. Employers should also keep in mind that they can change their vaccination policy in the future, converting from a non-mandatory policy to a mandatory one if warranted for the particular workforce.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Beryllium Sphere (r) on Wednesday March 31 2021, @06:22PM (2 children)
What he said was that the law that provides for Emergency Use Authorizations prohibits anyone from requiring somebody to take an EUA vaccination. That will change once the regular-channels full approvals are in place.
(Score: 5, Informative) by Beryllium Sphere (r) on Wednesday March 31 2021, @06:53PM (1 child)
https://www.statnews.com/2021/02/23/federal-law-prohibits-employers-and-others-from-requiring-vaccination-with-a-covid-19-vaccine-distributed-under-an-eua/ [statnews.com]
It took me a while to find the link, sorry.
Credibility level: he links to the actual statute.
Open issue: if you advise someone of her legal option to accept or refuse the vaccine, have you complied with the law if you go on to say that if she says no you will exercise your employment-at-will option to refuse her a job? I don't have the background to start an answer to that.
(Score: 3, Informative) by slashnot on Wednesday March 31 2021, @09:19PM
Yes, I came here to say exactly this. Employers currently cannot require employees to get a vaccine because no vaccine has been approved by the FDA yet - they are still in EUA status.
I am affiliated with a nursing home where 93% of the residents have been fully vaccinated. Unfortunately only 66% of the staff have been vaccinated. While this is higher than the 50% average for other retirement communities the area, it should be more, especially considering most of these employees work in Nursing and should know better. When residents' families ask why it's not required for staff, they are directed to the EUA regulations.
At some point a COVID vaccine will be required by many employers, just like an annual flu vaccine is now.