Embracing Workplace Vaccination Mandates

Workplaces struggling to marry up a mandatory vaccine policy with HPPA privacy laws got good news last Wednesday when the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission ruled that employers are entitles—and required—to ensure a safe workplace “in which an individual shall not pose a direct threat to the health or safety of individuals in the workplace.”

This ruling means that not only can employers require eligible employees to get a COVID vaccine, but also they are required to. Neither does this policy does not violate the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), as receiving a vaccine does not constitute a medical exam.

Limited exceptions apply to a workplace vaccine mandate, as it cannot apply to employees ineligible to receive a vaccine for health reasons or “sincerely held” religious beliefs. In such cases, employers are required to make reasonable accommodations for the workers, like allowing them to work from home. Employers may not be able to summarily fire employees who decline to be vaccinated, but they can push them onto unpaid leave or similar entitlements under federal, state, and local laws.

Certain mission critical employees unable to receive a vaccine will need to be reassigned to another role that allows them to work from home. However, this ruling means that if the workers’ job cannot be done remotely and there’s no reasonable way to accommodate their desire not to be vaccinated, then they’re allowed to be terminated.