EEOC Injects Guidance on COVID-19 Vaccine Practices in the Workplace
Author: SUSAN L. NARDONE AND CASSANDRA J. NEUGOLD – Gibbons Law Alert
… “a requirement that an individual shall not pose a direct threat to the health or safety of individuals in the workplace.” Employers can require employees to get a COVID-19 vaccine, but must allow for exceptions where employees are unable to receive the vaccine because of either disabilities or sincerely held religious beliefs…
… Unlike the presence of a COVID-19 positive employee, the EEOC does not conclude that the presence of an unvaccinated employee in the workplace poses a direct threat. Rather, the burden falls on the employer to conduct an individualized assessment of the risk by considering four factors: (1) the duration of the risk; (2) the nature and severity of the potential harm; (3) the likelihood that the potential harm will occur; and (4) the imminence of the potential harm…
Now that vaccines are approved and in the pipeline it is time for employers to decide whether they will be required for all or certain workplace employees. I hope that these December 16, 2020 EEOC Guidelines will be more consistent than previous CDC and other workplace COVID-19 guidelines. So far, corporations continue to face potential liability relating to their safety policies/practice. Now they have to develop a vaccine policy that balances safety, risk and privacy concerns. I am calling out the section on employer provided vaccines for a careful read. I agree with the authors that many employers may pull back from directly providing vaccines in light of the ADA privacy concerns.