I’m honestly not sure if this will go into GD territory, but I work in a classroom for special needs and the topic came up as to if the company we work for could dismiss people who did not want the vaccine (it wasn’t clear if they meant “don’t want it now”, or “ever”). One person even suggested that it might be discriminatory if they opted to make the vaccine a condition of employment. This is all very hypothetical and I personally think just taking the shot is a no-brainer, but I’m curious if there’s any legal precedent here.
I think it’s going to vary greatly based on jurisdiction. A lawyer on talk radio this week said that refusing a vaccination would be grounds for dismissal under Ontario labour laws if it put the company at risk.
At the same time, there were dueling OpEds in the Toronto Star today as to whether it would be legal. The Canadian Civil Liberties Association (our version of the ACLU, but much more subdued) holds that it would not be legal and the employer has no right to even ask if you are vaccinated.
There was an agreement with the Nurses union about a decade ago to not require the flu shot for nurses and some people are holding it out as precedent.
There are lots of places where companies can fire you for pretty much any reason. If you are in one of those locations, then no shot = no job.
Forcing you to take the vaccine is not the same as firing you for not doing so, nor the same as making the vaccine a condition of hire or continued hire.
I’ve worked in several hospitals where I was required to be tested for TB every x years, and vaccinated for hepatitis A and B. That doesn’t seem unreasonable to me.
At my older relative’s care facility, there have been several positive tests, all among staff, none among residents, resulting in residents being locked down for cumulative months. They just fired several staff who refused to vaccinate. I’m in favor.
Everybody talks about their freedom to refuse the vaxx, but thinks there should be no consequences. An employer has a big interest in maintaining a healthy workforce and people getting sick and dying when there’s a readily available (ha!) vaccine costs their business money. A vaxxed employee is a valuable asset, a vaxx refusing employee is a liability. Businesses are used to preserving assets and getting rid of liabilities. You are free to refuse to vax, and then you will be free to go find someone else to work for. You are absolutely free to choose, but your freedoms and choices have consequences. Up to each individual to decide what’s more important to them, just as it’s up to each business to decide which liabilities they refuse to tolerate. If this seems unfair to you, perhaps you should work to make legislative changes that make your state an “at will” employment state. Or maybe your union will go to bat for your right to not vaxx. Oh, you don’t HAVE a union? Hmm, seems like anti vaxxers have some work to do then.
In the U.S., the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has said that employers cannot mandate vaccination against Covid-19 in the event of medical contraindications or opposition on the basis of religion.
The former exception makes eminent sense; the latter provides a unreasonable loophole, given that no major religions preach against or ban vaccination for followers. One might wonder how many companies will accept the word of employees who say “it’s against my religion” without further checking.
Unwillingness to accept vaccination will hopefully be largely overcome by bonuses and other incentives, public pressure on companies with substantial public contacts but a high percentage of unvaccinated employees*, and of course success of the vaccines with a continued very low rate of significant side effects.
*if I’m planning on flying somewhere, I’d like to be assured that the airline crews have been vaccinated.
If you’re in a job that involves in-person interactions with other people (which most do), I think it’s a pretty easy case to make that being vaccinated is a bona fide occupational requirement.
I have been required by my employer to receive the flu vaccine annually for the past 3-4 years. I am not yet required to receive the COVID vaccine, but I expect that will happen eventually.
Conversely, annual TB test are no longer required.
mmm
Muslim religious authorities had been, saying that the vaccines contain pork products. I don’t know if they still do, but I would not be surprised to learn there are still holdouts. Christian Scientists don’t forbid vaccination but do discourage it.
https://www.historyofvaccines.org/content/blog/religion-vaccination-confusion
I worked for a very large healthcare organization. Flu vaccines were mandated. The shots were offered free and on-site at every facility on multiple occasions to make it as easy as possible to get them. There were exemptions for documented medical and religious reasons and those people would have to wear a mask for the flu season. But no one would be fired if they still refused. Instead, after a certain date they would not be scheduled to work until they were vaccinated. After a certain number of days of not working (and not for “lack of work” reasons), the employee would be presumed to have abandoned their job, i.e. quit. This apparently got around the legal issues.
I don’t believe there were many people who went this route.
I never knew of any and everyone was informed of the policy when they were hired. I assume that the organization will try to follow this same procedure for the covid vaccine. But with the anti-vax sentiment so high for this, they will probably have a lot more issues. Especially since right now they can’t afford to lose any patient-care employees. It will be interesting to see how they handle it.
That sounds outstanding. Do you have a cite?
Title VII defines religion very broadly to include traditional organized religions as well as “beliefs.” A Roman Catholic could ask for an exemption on the basis of their religious beliefs and it doesn’t matter if official Church doctrine says the vaccine is okay. Most companies are just going to accept the employee at their word because they’re not really in a position to do any further checking.
You can find that information from the good old EEOC itself. While it’s not prohibited, most employers are unlikely to mandate a COVID vaccine as a condition of employment but will likely encourage their employees to get it.
“Both official and non-official Islamic bodies and Muslim medical associations in several countries have ruled that the Covid-19 vaccines are permissible.”
As for businesses requiring Covid-19 vaccination for employees:
“This guidance (from the EEOC) makes it very clear that employers have the law on their side,” Sahar Aziz, a Rutgers Law School professor with expertise in employment discrimination, told MarketWatch. “Your employer can mandate that you take the COVID-19 vaccine, so long as you do not have a [sincerely held] religious belief or a disability that would prohibit you from taking the vaccine.”
Apparently (and I am not a labor lawyer or any kind of lawyer) it gets more complicated if a company wants to fire an employee for not getting vaccinated against Covid-19, involving assessment of whether the employee is a “direct threat” to others, ways to accomodate the worker’s desires etc.
I included the last link mostly because I love the website name.