Your Employer May Soon Ask You To Be Vaccinated

With at least two COVID-19 vaccines expected to receive federal approval in the U.S. within a matter of weeks, hopes for beating the coronavirus are looking up. Yet for millions of workers and businesses, the emerging immunizations also raise a host of questions, not the least of which is this: Can your employer require that you get vaccinated? 

The answer: Yes, in many cases, employment attorneys said. For now, vaccination plans are focused on prioritizing who will receive the first doses, beginning with those who are considered most vulnerable as well as most exposed to the disease.

But employers will soon have to consider how to communicate with their workforces about the vaccine and decide whether to require staffers to get vaccinated as part of their duty to keep their workers, clients, and communities safe. “Generally speaking, employers are free to require safety measures like vaccination with exceptions for certain employees,” said Aaron Goldstein, a labor and employment partner at the international law firm Dorsey & Whitney.

“So the answer is likely to be yes, with an asterisk.” The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) already allows companies to require employees to be vaccinated for the flu. Workers who don’t wish to be vaccinated for medical reasons can request an exemption under the Americans with Disabilities Act, as can those for whom taking a vaccine would violate their religious beliefs, under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. -Full Report