Can employers make COVID-19 vaccination mandatory? (YES with some exceptions)

[hlthe2b]

Can employers make COVID-19 vaccination mandatory?
How employers approach the issue will vary

https://www.denverpost.com/2021/05/27/employers-mandatory-covid-19-vaccination/


Can employers make COVID-19 vaccination mandatory?

Yes, with some exceptions.

Experts say U.S. employers can require employees to take safety measures, including vaccination. That doesn’t necessarily mean you would get fired if you refuse, but you might need to sign a waiver or agree to work under specific conditions to limit any risk you might pose to yourself or others.

“Employers generally have wide scope” to make rules for the workplace, said Dorit Reiss, a law professor who specializes in vaccine policies at the University of California Hastings College of the Law. “It’s their business.”

Rules will vary by country. But the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has allowed companies to mandate the flu and other vaccines, and has indicated they can require COVID-19 vaccines.
There are exceptions. For example, people can request exemptions for medical or religious reasons. Some states have proposed laws that restrict mandating the vaccines because of their “emergency use” status, but that may become less of an issue since Pfizer has applied for full approval and others are likely to follow.

How employers approach the issue will vary. Many might not want to require vaccination because of the administrative burden of tracking compliance and managing exemption requests, noted Michelle S. Strowhiro, an employment adviser and lawyer at McDermott Will & Emery. Legal claims could also arise.
As a result, many employers will likely strongly encourage vaccination without making it mandatory, Strowhiro said.

[Johonny]

1. I wish mine would

[Tree Lady]

2. My daughter is manager of dealership

With 300 employees in CA she said it is illegal in CA to require it. But the girls in office she works directly with all got it and the one hold out got it for going to Hawaii.

[Freddie]

3. At least any employer in health care should be able to require it

Heard about people working in nursing homes refusing to get it and spreading it to the elderly. The vaccine is least effective in the very elderly.

[GregariousGroundhog]

11. Many health care employers already require influenza and hepatitis vaccinations

I highly suspect that once the FDA grants full approval (as opposed to emergency use) of the COVID vaccines, we will see health care providers and the military mandate COVID vaccination.

[Walleye]

4. They can make you pee in a cup for marijuana

[MichMan]

5. Why hasn't the Federal Government required it for all employees?

It could be done with a stroke of a pen. Why hasn't it?

[hlthe2b]

7. You know the answer. You've been commenting on it... Same as with military

In a few months, both Pfizer and Moderna are all but certain to have full FDA approval and they will.

But, businesses do not have to wait.

[MichMan]

8. Business can order their employees to be vaccinated, but the government is prohibited?

What law makes that distinction?

[hlthe2b]

9. They are following the military model which mandates without consent those vaccines that

are FDA-approved, but can use others (e.g., experimental Venezuelan Equine Encephalitis in the 1980s) and similar only for those determined to be at service-related exceptional risk. Anthrax vaccine was FDA-approved if you are thinking of that. Beyond that, this would be a question for the WH and Office of Personnel Management (OPM).

[beaglelover]

6. It's voluntary where I work.

I just went through return to the office training for Managers this week. When we do return to the office you can’t ask if someone is vaccinated and you can’t say things like Ok everyone who is vaccinated let’s meet in the conference room
To discuss xyz and if you are not vaccinated you can zoom into the meeting.

[ProfessorGAC]

12. Why Can't You Ask Or Say Those Things?

Unless there is a reason for not being vaxxed that is an outcome of being in a protected class, why can't employers treat lower health risk people differently?
If it's in an at-will state, I think they could get away with just terminating you for refusing to adequately protect coworkers. That's not likely, but they could probably do it.
Why did your company make this call?
Retired member of management in a multinational here. I'm not getting that there's a hard legal reason why you couldn't require zoom attendance for non-vaxxed staff.

[beaglelover]

15. The Legal department made that call, I don't know why.

We just have to follow the rules as the Company decrees them. I'm on the tail end of my career, hoping to retire in 3 years, so I'm not rocking any boats! I work for a VERY large entertainment/news company.

[ProfessorGAC]

16. I Get You!

I wouldn't either.
I just find it odd they wouldn't find a way to enhance workplace safety rather than punting.
I was a boatrocker, but the last 15 months (after I announced my retirement date) I kept my head down.
So, I don't blame you.

[roamer65]

10. Once it's an FDA approved vaccine, they can require it.

They can fire if you don’t get it and do not have a valid medical reason for not getting it.

[Crunchy Frog]

13. My former employer, a home health agency, required wearing a mask during all patient contact,

if you didn't get a flu shot by a certain date. It was originally going to be mandated but that got dropped.

This was in NYS.

[FakeNoose]

14. I believe they should, if they're dealing with the public

Maybe exceptions will need to be made for certain employees, but it should be mandatory for most because of liability, if no other reason.