On the heels of
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However, these new regulations are bound to face pushback from the 80 million workers in its jurisdiction. Employers and states may go to court, especially if the mandate is absolute — meaning no exceptions for those with religious conflicts or disabilities.
How can employers navigate these complex issues, while keeping the safety of their employees top of mind? Carrie Cherveny, senior vice president of strategic client solutions and compliance at HUB International, breaks down what vaccine mandates mean for employers and employees alike.
Are company-wide vaccine mandates going to become more common as we head into the fall?
I broke my crystal ball about two weeks into COVID last year and have given up trying to make it work. But given what we've seen happening in the last handful of months, I think so. In fact, Littler Mendelson, an outstanding employment law firm, surveyed about 1,600 clients and found that 46% of the people in that survey were considering a mandatory program. Now there's a lot less who are interested in implementing it — something like 12% — but at a minimum, we're certainly seeing a significant increase in clients who want to talk about it.
What considerations are employers facing when implementing a mandate?
Starting from a legal standpoint, any employer who wants to implement a mandatory vaccine program has to offer accommodations to employees and candidates under Title VII for religious discrimination and under the Americans with Disabilities Act. So one of the things I tell clients is that if you're going to implement a mandatory program, be sure that you do it in writing. You distribute it to candidates and employees and then create a pathway for them to raise their hand and self-identify as somebody who may need an accommodation.
Employers also have to consider pregnancies. Even though the CDC has issued a press release on Aug. 11, clearing the way for vaccines for pregnant and breastfeeding women, sometimes they have underlying health conditions and complications that interfere with the ability to be vaccinated.
Also, there is no hiding the fact that we are in a labor shortage right now. Many clients are talking about how hard it is to recruit and retain talent, and creating a mandatory program may create an obstacle because candidates don't want to become vaccinated. On the other side, I'm hearing just as many stories where employees want to quit if the employer doesn't implement a mandatory program. So, there are definitely two sides to that coin.
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Many employers have implemented incentive programs instead of mandates. What are the pros and cons to this approach?
Incentive programs that are truly voluntary — where the employee can go out, choose whether or not they want to be vaccinated, get the vaccine and receive an incentive — are not necessarily always successful, meaning they reach 80 or 90% vaccinated status. But, we’re also not seeing a lot of complaints from employees either.
But when you start filing the incentives inside of health plans, or when you start connecting it to PTO (paid time off), or when you have a stronger message that moves toward a mandatory program, that's when it gets more difficult.
We're getting better positive morale responses to incentive programs over mandates. We're not necessarily seeing all employers hit the numbers they want to hit, but they're also not getting as much discontent [from employees] because morale is a big part of the conversation, too.
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How can companies move forward with the uncertainties of the pandemic when it comes to safety?
The clients that never changed their safety protocols had the least disruption in their workplace. And yes, during the lull of COVID, summer employees were frustrated that they were still wearing masks and still social distancing. But, that was just six weeks of time as compared to this continuous fluctuation and change.
It's kind of like the weather. You always have to be prepared and have a consistent baseline COVID prevention program in your workplace. We've been saying this since last year: as quickly as you send people back to the office, you have to be able to pivot and pull them back out.
Employers should also remember that you can always be more careful than the CDC advises. The CDC is your baseline, right? We want to oftentimes be safer than what the CDC or OSHA (The Occupational Safety and Health Administration) requires.
There is no way today for an employer to make everybody happy. So what can you do to run your business safely, keep your doors open and continue to be profitable? Employees will have to make their own choices about what's right for them, just like employers will have to make their own choices about what's right for the longevity and sustainability of their businesses.
