Vaccine Alert

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) recently issued guidance regarding vaccine anti-discrimination laws.

An employer may make vaccination mandatory - however, some employees may choose not to due to personal health or disability prohibitions or personal beliefs and preferences. In those cases, the employer cannot move to terminate staff unless they pose a significant threat to safety or obvious potential harm to other persons in the workplace.

To identify whether or not this person is a threat to safety, the employer must assess risk in four ways:

1. Duration of the risk
2. Nature of the severity of the potential harm to others
3. The likelihood that harm (exposure) would occur
4. The imminence of potential harm

As always, employers should first determine if an accommodation can be made (such as remote working).

Lastly, remember that employee medical information is confidential and should be kept separate from a general personnel file.