The NACC’s Business Works presented a webinar on June 15th to unpack the complexities of employer’s navigation of how to set policies regarding vaccines in the workplace.
Some key takeaways:
- It is legal for employers to require employees to get a COVID-19 vaccine. However, many factors go into making vaccines mandatory including the impact on company culture, public relations, resources required to administering the policy, etc.
- The safest way for employers to have their employees vaccinated is to have them go to a third party, like a CVS or their own doctors to avoid legal ramifications.
- Although there are widespread reports of use of “fake vaccination cards”, the simplest way of documenting that an employee is “fully vaccinated” to request a copy of the employee’s completed vaccination card. A copy of these cards should be treated as confidential materials and stored appropriately.
- Decisions about how and when to bring workers back can impact the office culture long-term. Policies should reflect equitable treatment of all employees. Public health department guidance is a good resource for directives.
- The policy landscape on this issue can change quickly due to the risks of the COVID-19 variants, etc. The NACC will keep our members abreast of future policy updates.
A full recording of the program and the extensive Q&A following can be found on our program YouTubve Channel here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S-DHG9DaH7s
A special thanks to our Chamber Member panelists for sharing their expertise with us:
- Laura Garafolo | Laura Garofalo, Law, LLC
- Brian LaFratta | Huck Bouma Attorneys at Law
- Nate Hoke | Insperity
- Michael Carney | U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation
As always, please reach out if you have specific policy concerns about your business or need more information.
Reba Morgan Osborne
(630) 544-3387