Companies Can Require Employees Get Vaccinated, With Exceptions

March 24th, 2021

Can an employer make workers get the vaccine? The short answer is yes, according to Jeff Mokotoff, managing partner of Ford Harrison’s Atlanta office. “But as in life and in law, there are exceptions to that rule.”

Loren Holmes / Associated Press

Companies across metro Atlanta see the COVID-19 vaccine as a light at the end of a long tunnel that could illuminate the path back to in-person work. But there remain plenty of shadows — questions about what a company can require.

For instance, can an employer make workers get the vaccine?

The short answer is yes, according to Jeff Mokotoff, managing partner of Ford Harrison’s Atlanta office.

“But as in life and in law, there are exceptions to that rule,” Mokotoff said. Religion or health reasons, for example.

He suggests companies consider the following:

Look to federal agencies including OSHA and the EEOC to give guidance. The EEOC does not explicitly say mandatory vaccination policies are legal, but it suggests an employer may require the COVID-19 vaccine as a condition of returning to the workplace. With some exceptions.
Understand employees may be exempt due to health or religious reasons. Those would be covered under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, and possibly the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA).

And just because an employer can mandate vaccinations, Mokotoff questions whether a company should. That requirement could bring unwanted side effects such as pushback from employees who don’t want to get vaccinated, and employees who say they won’t work near co-workers who haven’t gotten the shot.

The wrangling could slow productivity at a time when few companies can afford it.

To read the full article, go to Atlanta Business Chronicle>>