On May 29, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) issued guidance regarding permissible actions of employers vis-a-vis employees in connection with requiring COVID-19 vaccinations and the offering of incentives.
As indicated in an earlier advisory, employers can require on-site employees to receive the COVID-19 vaccination subject to certain religious and medical accommodations. Employers can also require that employees provide proof of vaccination.
As opposed to simply ordering employees to be vaccinated, some employers are looking at incentives they can offer to employees to receive the vaccination. Where employees are obtaining the vaccination outside of the employment site, there is no limit to the incentives an employer can offer an employee to do so. Employers can also provide incentives for employees to simply confirm that their family members have also been vaccinated.
With respect to employer-provided vaccinations, offered incentives are more limited. There can be nothing that smacks of coercion and excessively large incentives might do so.
The guidance should be referenced for full details.
If you have any questions about this topic, please contact Dana Rose or your Weston Hurd attorney.
