Yes, you may require employees to take COVID-19 vaccine

Healthcare employers have raised the question of mandatory vaccinations for their employees for several years. Because of COVID-19’s highly contagious nature, all employers are now wondering if they can require workers to get the vaccine, assuming one is developed.

Accommodation may be necessary

Generally, you may require all employees to take the COVID-19 vaccine because of the risk of spreading the contagion to coworkers, customers, and other third parties. If individuals can’t get the shot because of a bona fide medical or religious reason, you have the right to (1) require them to provide substantiation for the exemption and then (2) consider if other accommodations may be available.

Especially in the first year of a COVID vaccine (which optimistically would occur during our second year of experience with the virus), we expect most employers will adopt policies similar to those used by healthcare providers mandating flu vaccines, for which the standard accommodation is a face covering. The default accommodation may be unworkable, however, if there are changes in our knowledge of the disease, mutations in the virus itself, or other special sensitivities or demands in a particular work environment.