Yes, your boss may require you to get a COVID-19 vaccination.
Will they? It’s a more complex answer that is influenced by who you are, what you do, where you work and how necessary you are. And there are exceptions.
It’s still early, of course, with not enough doses for most working Californians. But as the spread of vaccine expands, companies are rushing to design the policies needed to open up, return to business and to prevent fatal contamination at work, while losing valuable employees who do not want to shoot.
“In general, everyone is trying their best to keep places safe and working efficiently,” said Bay Sokol labor lawyer Bill Sokol. “It means trying to be as creative as possible and make sure the work is done.”
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration requires employers to provide a safe workplace. Private companies have the right to fire anyone, as long as they do not differentiate on the basis of race, gender, age and other protected categories.
And while there is currently no law or regulation that directly addresses mandatory COVID-19 vaccines, there is legal precedent. LIn December, the U.S. Commission for Equal Employment Opportunities issued guidelines stating that employers may require workers to receive a COVID-19 vaccine before returning physically to the workplace – although employees may request medical or religious exemptions.
In response, employers are rapidly adopting a broad spectrum of policies, depending on risk.
Vaccinations are usually mandatory for those working in child and parental care – where infection of a client or colleague can have tragic consequences.
It is not usually required by companies whose workers can wear social distance, wear masks or work remotely, such as Facebook, Google and other technology companies.
But in the great interim – where many of us spend our 9 to 5 days – most employers take a compromise position. Although they do not ask for a jab, they encourage vaccinations through a root-and-stick approach that combines education, recommendations, incentives and limitations.
The medical centers of the University of California, for example, keep a list of workers who have not been vaccinated. These workers must also submit a “Vaccine Declaration”, wear personal protective equipment and be re-awarded.
There is precedent: vaccines for other infectious diseases are needed to protect public health. Many healthcare companies require flu vaccines. Schools need vaccines against measles, mumps and rubella. Tuberculosis tests are usually required for work in health care, education and social services.
But critics note a major difference: the COVID-19 vaccine has not yet been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration; it is only ‘authorized’, pending further study. Critics claim they will hold employers legally responsible for any adverse reactions.
Lawyers present two rebuttals. The distinction between the regulations is unlikely to matter to the courts, they say. And any reaction, if linked to the vaccine, would simply cause a claim for compensation for workers.
This does not mean that your employer has a carte blanche to fire you. If you claim medical or religious exemption, they must first show that you pose a direct threat to the workplace. Then they need to consider whether a reasonable accommodation – such as working remotely – is possible.
This accommodation is easy in some works; in others it is impossible. In Hollywood, for example, “if you have a specific duty to act in a movie scene, there is no way to accommodate you,” Sokol said. “On the other hand, if you work to be a film editor, you can sit at home.”
This week, a major survey by Littler, the world’s largest labor and labor law practice representing management, found that most employers are unlikely to grant the COVID-19 vaccine.
Nearly half, or 48%, of the respondents have already decided against the requirement; 43% said they were still considering it and about 7% needed or planned it once vaccines were available or approved. Of reluctant companies, 67% said they were concerned about the impact of a mandate on the morale of the employee, the corporate culture and staff. Most hoped to encourage only vaccination, while also providing remote work and maintaining safety protocols.
“Most employers are dependent on their workers,” Sokol said. Consider a car dealer, he said. If a mechanic is not vaccinated, they suddenly have an open bay and cannot keep up with the business. ‘
Surprisingly, members of the military do not need to be vaccinated, though that may change once the FDA issues a formal license.
Can an employer be sued if one of their non-vaccinated employees infects a client, client or colleague? While that is possible, it’s hard to imagine, Sokol said. To be successful, a plaintiff will have to prove that he is sick by one particular person in our virus-filled world. This is a high order.
While at least ten states are proposing bills banning private employers from getting their workers vaccinated, such efforts are ill-considered and unwise, says bio-ethicist Art Caplan of the NYU School of Medicine.
“Workers have the right to a safe workplace,” he said. “Customers may also want a safe environment and may prefer businesses that offer it.”
The older care companies Atria Senior Living and Aegis Living, which are concerned about the health of their patients, need worker vaccinations as soon as they are generally available. This makes exceptions for workers who are pregnant or have other compelling reasons to take off.
“Taking the vaccine is, in our view, the greatest act of helping our fellow human beings,” said John Moore, CEO of Atria Senior Living, which requires all employees of the 43 California facilities to receive both doses of the vaccine by May. take. 1.
Home care agencies such as Home Health Bay Area, which sends caregivers to bed, say they now weigh the risks and benefits of such a policy.
But places that serve more independent seniors, who do not share housing, follow a wait-and-see approach. With apartment-style communities for active older people, Covia does not require staff vaccines. Walnut Creek’s Rossmoor is also not with 6,700 homes on 1,800 acres, though that may change in the future, CEO Tim O’Keefe said.
Some families who employ babysitters add a COVID-19 Safety Protocol clause to their contracts, which requires vaccinations and testing, according to The Nanny League, a Los Angeles-based childcare and education company. A-light. Adventure Nannies, which serves busy and traveling families, says it also receives requests for vaccinated help for child care.
COVID shots can be requested or needed for anyone looking for a job as a chef, housekeeper, estate manager, parent caregiver or childminder at The Help Company. According to company spokesperson Melissa Jensen, most candidates are vaccinated voluntarily.
But some businesses are trying a softer approach.
Starbucks offers up to two hours of paid time for each shot. In Amtrak, vaccinated employees receive a bonus, which is equivalent to two hours of payment, as well as paid free time for the appointment and any absence due to side effects. Facebook, like other technology companies, has less public contact and is unable to provide vaccines. As workers begin to return to the office after July, “we have introduced a number of protocols that include testing, physical distance, wearing masks and other best practices,” said spokeswoman Chloe Meyere.
Most major medical centers – including Cedars Sinai, Stanford, Kaiser, John Muir and UC San Francisco, Los Angeles and Irvine – recommend that vaccines not be needed. Masks are required at all facilities.
Voluntary compliance was high, they report. So far, about 70% of the workers at Stanford Medicine have been vaccinated; 71% by UCLA; 77% by UCSF; 80% by John Muir and 89% by UC Irvine. The rate is much higher among employees with regular patient contact – 97% of UCLA’s medical residents, for example, are vaccinated.
Once shots are available, most school districts – including in Santa Cruz, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Alameda, Contra Costa and Orange – say they only require staff members to participate in COVID-19 testing, at least once every two months , as required by the state.
The only exception is Los Angeles, where Superintendent Austin Beutner claims that once COVID-19 vaccines are available, both teachers and students must be vaccinated before they can return to campus. With 25,088 teachers and 50,586 other employees, it is the second largest employer in Los Angeles County, after the provincial government.
“A vaccination can mitigate the risk for teachers, cafeteria workers, bus drivers, librarians and others,” he said, adding that a TB vaccine is needed, but COVID-19 poses a much greater threat. “We have a responsibility to create an environment that is as safe as possible.”