Charting A Policy On Covid-19 Vaccinations: What Employers Need To Know – Forbes

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Theres nothing less reassuring than an expert warning of impending doom. Such was the news recently as Dr. Rochelle Walensky, the CDC director, noted that a new Covid-19 surge may be on the way. Speaking about the uptick in cases and the rise of troubling variants, she was unusually candid, which speaks as much to her own expertise as it does to the new administrations pledge to be as transparent as possible. That may not have been what the president was after, but it did send shivers down many a spine. For leaders trying to rebuild their workforce and bring everyone back to the workplace, its another indication that they may need to craft a policy on employee vaccination, before its too late.

Encourage or require? Legal or not? This is uncharted territory, and the questions until a few months ago were theoretical. Now that the vaccine rollout has accelerated theres little time to explore them, and leaders need answers fast. And given that the pandemic may have changed the way we live and work forever, its likely this will remain an issue in one in one form or another for years to come. So lets look at some of the shoulds and coulds:

Should An Employer Encourage Employees To Get Vaccinated?

Nothing wrong with incentives. Weve seen Bolthouse Farms do it with $500 cash bonuses to those who get the vaccine. The plant has weekly vaccine drives to make it easier for the 1800 full-time hourly workers, and offers frequent educational sessions to clarify myths and overcome hesitation. Thats making an enormous difference, particularly given that 80% of the workers are Latino, who are both more likely to be hospitalized with the virus than whites, according to the CDC, but also tend to be more skeptical about getting the vaccine.

Beyond the doing-good aspect of the CEOs decision, theres also a business rationale here: less illness and less absences are likely worth more than the overall expenditure of the incentive. Other organizations who announced they would compensation workers for getting vaccinated include Dollar General, Trader Joes and Aldi who are also offering an extra four hours of pay on top of paid time off. Instacart is offering a $25 stipend for those who receive the shots so long as they meet minimum delivery quotas, which seems like more of an incentive to make those quotas, but its something.

Should an employer offer paid time off for vaccinations?

Makes sense: vaccinations benefit the whole workforce as well as the business. As well as Dollar General, Trader Joes and Aldi, Chobani got into the game. Chobani is covering up to six hours of paid time off for its employees to get vaccinated (for each of the two vaccine doses, three hours). The policy covers its 2,200 workers throughout the U.S. The paid time off means hourly workers dont need to choose between their health and their paycheck.

We saw enough of this during the height of the pandemic, and its still happening: frontline employees risking exposure and illness for fear of losing their position on the line, from manufacturing to food service to meatpacking. The surges that happened around workplaces prove what a bad management policy this is.

Can Employers Require Employees To Get The Vaccine?

In January 2021, when some of these organizations made their announcements, the vaccine rollout was still in its early stages. As of that time, no company had said they would mandate the vaccine. Even frontline workplaces schools, nursing homes, hospitals, and retails are not requiring the vaccine to come to work. A poll by Gartner found that 60% of HR leaders did not plan to require employees to get vaccinated, though they would encourage it. Under a third of HR leaders thought mandating a vaccine was ethical, and a scant 3% of respondents said they would require proof of vaccination for an employee to return to the workplace.

All well and good, but with cases rising again as of the end of March 2021, weve now been grappling with the pandemic for over a year. For frontline workers whose job involves a lot of public interaction, we simply may not have the luxury of encouragement. Theres also the question of whats driving demand and pushing adoption. Without any mandates, demand flags and adoption wanes and this is a pandemic, after all. Among the CEOs pushing for mandatory employee vaccinations is the CEO of United Airlines, who argued for it in a recent employee town hall. Some companies in Britain are already requiring vaccines a move dubbed jabs for jobs and highly criticized by UK labor groups, who argue it will discriminate against certain socio-economic groups. But considering that among the companies are two private elderly care home companies that together have a workforce numbering 20,000, and given the prevalence of viral spread and deaths, among health care, it may make sense. Essentially, depending on your industry, requiring vaccines may become the norm. If your workforce is remote, you may not be able to make the case for it.

Can And Should Employers Require Employees To Notify Them Of Their Vaccine Status?

If you have a crowded as in public or shared workplace, you probably have employees who have expressed discomfort at working near or alongside those who wont wear masks. Masks are mandated in public now, so the law is on their side. You may also have a divide happening between the vaccinated and the unvaccinated. It may not be a matter of choice, but simply timing. Still, its good to know who has been vaccinated and who hasnt.

But under HIPAA, Immunization records are considered protected health information. So heres the guidance:

Whether or not an employee has received a COVID-19 vaccine may be disclosed only by a healthcare provider and thats if the employee has furnished the provider with their written authorization.

Employees can ask employees if they have gotten the vaccine, but thats all they can do ask. The only source that can provide information is the employees medical provider, with written authorization from the employee. The employee, in other words, has to consent.

If an employer requests proof of the vaccine, the employer cant also request any other medication information be disclosed. So while Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) guidance allows employers the choice of requiring proof of vaccination from an employee, it cant also unearth disclosure of information reflecting a disability, or according to the Americans with Disabilities Act. In other words, you can ask. But be careful.

The COVID-19 vaccines have triggered a strange intersection of economic and personal imperatives, ethics, privacy laws, legislated employee protections, personal choice, and a force beyond any one of these factors namely the virus itself. Its taken more than 500,000 American lives, decimated families and communities, and had an indelible, irreversible, nearly inconceivable impact on work and life. Its not going to stop having an impact, either. Health experts project we will be grappling with this and other pandemics for years into the future.

That said, it almost seems quaint that we used to talk about the future of work as a heady mixture of possibilities, a magic carpet of technology, AI and robotics that was going to float us into the next decades. Weve got far more serious matters to deal with now, and it will be fascinating to see what policies have changed in workplaces even 12 months from now. Until then, mask up, get your shots, and stay well.

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Charting A Policy On Covid-19 Vaccinations: What Employers Need To Know - Forbes