{"id":8893,"date":"2021-11-11T20:53:02","date_gmt":"2021-11-11T20:53:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/affinityhrgroup.com\/?p=8893"},"modified":"2023-11-27T20:26:28","modified_gmt":"2023-11-27T20:26:28","slug":"vaccine-accomodations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theworkplaceadvisors.com\/vaccine-accomodations\/","title":{"rendered":"Vaccine Accommodations"},"content":{"rendered":"

We know there is a lot of confusion around vaccine mandates and applicable accommodations. In order to provide more in-depth information for you to consider when planning the best course for your company, we wanted to share some of the resources we have found on these topics.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

President Biden\u2019s \u201c<\/b>Path Out of the Pandemic<\/b><\/a>\u201d Vaccine Mandates:<\/b><\/p>\n

President Biden recently announced several initiatives to help the country recover from the on-going COVID-19 pandemic. One of those initiatives, \u201cVaccinating the Unvaccinated,\u201d will implement vaccine requirements which will cover 80 million employees. These new rules will extend vaccine mandates to all federal workers and federal contractors and subcontractors. In addition, employees of private employers with 100+ employees will either have to be vaccinated or be tested weekly. These employers will also need to provide paid time off for their employees to get vaccinated and to recover from any side effects of the vaccines.<\/span><\/p>\n

OSHA is expected to issue an Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) in 30-60 days with a short time frame before it becomes a requirement. After 6 months, OSHA is expected to replace the ETA with a permanent standard. While there is no guidance yet, you can find the most current information from OSHA here: <\/span>https:\/\/www.osha.gov\/coronavirus\/faqs<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

Accommodations:\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n

Conversations about vaccine mandates trigger questions about reasonable accommodations.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The EEOC has offered many FAQs around COVID-19 in the workplace which can be found at <\/span>EEOC: COVID-19<\/span><\/a>. Section \u201cK\u201d covers vaccines and the other sections offer valuable insights for every aspect of COVID-19 in the workplace. While the EEOC has not specifically said employers can require employees to be vaccinated, it clarified that there is no law preventing an employer from establishing the requirement. Employers must apply the same requirement to employees regardless of protected group (i.e., race, gender, religion, age, etc.) and must offer reasonable accommodation due to an employee\u2019s disability (ADA) or sincerely-held religious belief (Title VII of the Civil Rights Act).<\/span><\/p>\n

Reasonable accommodation could include allowing the employee to work from home, requiring the employee wear a mask and socially distance from others, modifying the employee\u2019s work shift or schedule to reduce personal interactions, mandating the employee to regularly present a negative COVID-19 test and\/or creating a job reassignment.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

While there are many possible accommodations, employers must only offer those that are reasonable, meaning they do not cause an undue hardship on the company. This means that what works for one company or employee may not be possible for another.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Employers must be consistent in their consideration of accommodations for all employees but every employee\u2019s case should be assessed individually using factors such as the reason for the need and the accommodations needed as well as their job duties and impacts of the accommodations on the company and other co-workers.<\/span><\/p>\n

Employers should name one person to review and maintain any reasonable accommodation requests to maintain consistency. A good process for considering a reasonable accommodation includes:<\/span><\/p>\n