Fact check: Workers fired for refusing a vaccine are unlikely to qualify for unemployment

[Nevilledog]

Link to tweet

Tweet text:
Ron Filipkowski
@RonFilipkowski
Almost all workers who are terminated for refusal to get vaccinated will be ineligible for unemployment benefits.

Fact check: Workers fired for refusing a vaccine are unlikely to qualify for unemployment
Employment experts say workers who are fired for refusing a vaccine are generally ineligible for unemployment benefits, but there are some exceptions.
usatoday.com
8:09 AM · Sep 10, 2021

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/factcheck/2021/08/09/fact-check-workers-fired-over-vaccination-can-denied-unemployment/5518818001/


*snip*

Companies can impose vaccine mandates

Private companies are free to set conditions of employment as long as they do not violate existing state and federal laws, legal experts say. And there is no federal law prohibiting companies from requiring vaccines.

Guidance from the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission says employers are not prohibited from requiring employees who are physically at the workplace to get vaccinated, as long as the requirements comply with other workplace laws. For example, the requirements must provide reasonable accommodations for those with disabilities and religious exemptions. Similarly, the U.S. Justice Department wrote in a legal opinion that businesses may lawfully require employees to get vaccinated against COVID-19.

Jeffrey Hirsch, a University of North Carolina law professor, said workplace vaccine mandates are comparable to uniform requirements.

"American employment law is very deferential to employers, which are able to exert a lot of control over workers," Hirsch said via email. "The COVID vaccine is just one example of this ability. While it’s obviously a politically charged one, it’s really no different in substance from a large number of others that have existed for a very long time."

*snip*

[OAITW r.2.0]

1. Makes sense.....why should we pay social benefits to anti-socialists? nt

[Nevilledog]

2. Time for those bootstraps they're always telling others to use.

[Lunabell]

3. Aw gee.

Sux to be them. GET VACCINATED YOU CRETIN TROGLODYTES!

[nycbos]

4. Excellent

Think about it this is probably the one situation where Mr. Burns would be the good guy.

[former9thward]

5. Who is Ron Filipkowski and what is his experience in UC disputes?

I am going to guess none since he does not say anything relevant. States determine who is and is not eligible for UC. Not the federal government. In the OP the only quotes come from federal agencies.

The issue is NOT whether a company can require vaccines. They generally can. The issue is whether an employee can get UC if they leave employment because of it. That is up to the states and UC claims adjudicators.

[StarfishSaver]

7. Perhaps you should read the article before criticizing the OP

Since your criticisms are fully addressed in the piece:

A worker who does not comply with a company's policy to get vaccinated is generally ineligible for unemployment benefits, experts say. But there are some exceptions – and unemployment qualification is not the same in every state.
...
Unemployment eligibility depends on state guidelines

It depends on the state, but in general an employee who is fired for refusing to comply with a company's vaccination requirements is not eligible to collect unemployment, legal experts say. Jennifer Shinall, a professor of law at Vanderbilt University, said employees are usually barred from getting unemployment benefits if they quit or if the employer had cause for termination.

"But every state defines what ‘cause’ is a little bit differently," Shinall said. "Some states have more guidance than others, and the COVID vaccine itself is relatively new, so certainly these employer mandates are very new.”

FYI, Ron Filipkowski didn't claim to be a UC expert. He simply tweeted an article in which experts explained the issue.

[KentuckyWoman]

6. "Right to work" and "at will" go full circle

Wingers who supported anti union laws because they blamed "greedy unions" for the mass exodus of jobs are now SOL.

My heart bleeds.