(Gray News) – Employers can ask their workers to receive a COVID-19 vaccine and exclude them from work if they refuse, the Equal Employment Opportunities Commission said in guidelines issued earlier this week.
Employers are required by law to ensure a secure job and this may mean the need to vaccinate their workers.
There are two exceptions for those with “sincerely supported” disabilities or religious beliefs that prevent them from getting vaccinated. The employer should make reasonable adjustments for these persons.
While the Americans with Disabilities Act limits the employer’s ability to require workers to undergo a medical examination, the EEOC says vaccination is not considered a medical examination.
“If a vaccine is given to an employee by an employer for protection against COVID-19, the employer is not looking for information about a person’s deficiencies or current health and is therefore not a medical examination,” the EEOC said in a statement. its guidelines.
However, questions about vaccination before screening could violate an ADA provision on disability surveys. This means that employers administering vaccines must demonstrate that pre-screening questions are “work-related and in line with business needs”.
The guidelines added that while the worker may be excluded from physical entry into the workplace for refusing vaccination, this does not mean that the employer can dismiss him automatically.
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