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Can Bosses Insist You Get a COVID Vaccine? Yes, but with Caveats

The Philadelphia Inquirer

Can bosses require you to get a COVID-19 vaccine? Legally, yes, they can.

But in reality, it depends on policies at your workplace.

More companies are requiring the vaccine, especially in health care and the public sector. But policies vary widely at the moment and many employers are reluctant to change.

[...]

Nationally, 16% of companies are now mandating COVID-19 vaccines for current employees, up from 15% in February; 14% of employers mandate vaccines for new hires only, according to a July survey by the Blank Rome law firm.

Of the 150 companies surveyed — among them C-suite executives, in-house lawyers, and human resources professionals — a third are based in Pennsylvania, and 11% in New Jersey.

“Bosses have to adapt on the ground right now,” given surging Delta variant infections, said Susan Bickley, partner at Blank Rome’s labor and employment practice in Houston.

While 56% of employers ask only whether workers are vaccinated, 30% of employers require proof. Among those wanting proof, nearly half said they want a copy of a vaccination card, the survey found.

[...]

Mandating vaccines doesn’t mean a one-size-fits-all approach, according to Bickley of Blank Rome.

There’s less of a business case to require remote workers to get vaccinated, she said. But if you’re working onsite, the company has every reason to mandate a vaccine.

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“Can Bosses Insist You Get a COVID Vaccine? Yes, but with Caveats,” by Erin Arvedlund was published in The Philadelphia Inquirer on August 3, 2021. 

This article was reprinted in Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on August 5, 2021. 

COVID-19 Employer Workplace Survey

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