If you are employed in the US, you may be anticipating a vaccine mandate of some type from your employer. Employers will continue to receive pressure from the Enforcers to impose mandates whether the employer truly wants to do so or not. Based on my brief research, I think there are a number of questions all of us should be asking any employer imposing a vaccine mandate.
First off, this is not legal advice. If you truly want to fight a vaccine mandate in the workplace, you should consult an attorney.
That being said, if I were an employee facing a vaccine mandate, government imposed or otherwise, I would probably ask the following questions. They should be able to answer all of them - but that does not mean they will be able to answer all of them. Of course, it is their duty to comply with all relevant laws when imposing a mandate, so they should probably be certain they are doing it right…
Questions for employers:
When will you require full vaccination?
How do you define “fully vaccinated”?
Will you require booster shots? When?
How many booster shots will you require in the future assuming boosters will continue to be recommended into the future? (More on that here)
What is your legal basis for requiring vaccines?
Are you being required to mandate vaccines or doing so voluntarily?
Is compliance with your vaccine mandate a condition of my continued employment?
If you are offering me continued employment in exchange for being vaccinated, how long will you guarantee continued employment based on my agreement to get vaccinated?
Assuming I suffer a vaccine related injury (e.g. blood clots, myocarditis, allergic reactions, death, etc.), how will you compensate me or my estate?
What is your medical leave policy for vaccine related injuries?
Will you be providing a bonus or other financial incentive for getting vaccinated? If not, why not?
Will you allow exemptions based on medical reasons? If not, please explain.
What is your process for filing a medical exemption?
Who determines whether I am qualified for a medical exemption?
What are their qualifications to make this determination?
Will you allow exemptions based on religious beliefs? If not, please explain.
What is the process for filing a religious exemption?
Who determines whether I am qualified for a religious exemption?
What are their qualifications to make this determination?
What is your appeal process in the event my medical and/or religious exemption is denied?
Will your vaccine mandate comply with the American with Disabilities Act (“ADA”)?
Will your vaccine mandate comply with Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964?
Does your vaccine mandate comply with all state laws?
Will you require documentation showing my vaccination status?
Who will be responsible for maintaining records of employee vaccination status?
Specifically, where will these records be kept and how will they be secured?
Specifically, which employees will have access to these records?
Will your inquiries as to my vaccine status and your record keeping comply with the ADA?
Will your inquiries as to my vaccine status and your record keeping comply with the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (“GINA”)?
Will any third parties be involved in the handling of my medical information?
If so, who are the third parties and what information will they access?
Will you be providing a disclosure to employees to explain how you will use, store, and share vaccination status? If not, why not?
Will your record keeping comply with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (“HIPAA”)?
If you will not comply with HIPPA, what is your legal justification for non-compliance?
Will you be providing vaccines on site?
If not, will you or the group health plan be paying for the vaccines? If not, why not?
How much paid time off will I receive for my vaccinations?
OSHA strongly encourages paid time off for employees to get vaccinated. If you will not be providing paid time off, why not?
How much paid time off will I receive if I become ill from the vaccines?
If I am vaccinated, will I be exempt from wearing a mask in the workplace? If not, why not?
If I am vaccinated, will I need to quarantine in the event I am exposed to a co-worker with COVID or COVID-like symptoms? If yes, why? If not, why not?
Will you provide a testing option in lieu of vaccination?
When and where will you provide testing?
If you will not provide testing, how will I be compensated for the costs of testing?
If vaccinated employees will not be required to wear masks, will negative tested employees be required to wear masks? If yes, why? (More on that here)
Will your testing program comply with HIPPA, GINA, the ADA, and all other relevant laws? If not, why not?
If I refuse vaccination and refuse testing and will not be allowed onsite, will you provide a reasonable accommodation for me to work offsite?
Can you provide a written copy of your vaccination & testing policy?
Can you provide a written disclosure as to your record keeping procedures?
Can you provide our primary contact for questions as to your program and any related legal issues?
Those are just a few questions that might need to be answered. Excessive? I do not think so given what is being asked of employees.
You probably see where I am going with this list. I am sure the executives and legal department will be able to answer all these questions right away for you…
For more on related topics, see my other posts here.