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As the approvals of the COVID-19 vaccines are being announced, employers are faced with many questions about how to handle vaccine-related issues in the workplace. This week, the EEOC updated its
Technical Assistance Questions and Answers to include questions regarding the COVID-19 vaccine and the applicability of various federal employment laws including the ADA, the Rehabilitation Act, GINA, and Title VII. Below are some highlights:
While the vaccination itself is not considered a medical examination under the ADA, pre-screening vaccination questions, which must accompany such vaccinations, likely are. That is because these pre-screening questions are inquiries likely to elicit information about a disability. As such, if an employer administers vaccines to its employees, these pre-screening questions must be “job-related and consistent with business necessity.” The EEOC addressed several scenarios:
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With the recent approval for emergency usage of the COVID-19 vaccine in the United States, employers may consider mandating or administering COVID-19 vaccinations when they become available for workplace safety reasons or perhaps just to return to some semblance of business as usual. Whether employers can or should require the vaccination will depend on several factors.
The Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) commands employers to ensure that the workplace is free from recognized hazards that are causing or are likely to cause death or serious physical harm to employees. This general duty clause may impose a duty on employers to take steps to prevent employees from contracting or spreading COVID-19 in the workplace. While it has not yet issued any guidance concerning COVID-19 vaccination, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration has published
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A COVID-19 vaccine authorized by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for emergency use has arrived in the United States and is being widely distributed to select groups as we issue this update. It is more than likely there will be vaccines approved for nonemergency use around Q2 of 2021. Consequently, many employers are evaluating whether they can and should issue a mandatory vaccine policy, and, if they decide to do so, how it should be implemented. As companies navigate this fast-moving development in the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on the workplace, they should consider key issues concerning the legal parameters of mandating a vaccine, as well as strategies for implementing such a plan.
‘It’s About Time We Shifted the Conversation on GBV to Men’: How Vodacom Is Combating Gender-Based Violence in South Africa
Global Citizen spoke with Taki Netshitenzhe, Director of External Affairs, at Vodacom South Africa.
Why Global Citizens Should Care
The UN’s Global Goal 5 works towards gender equality, and we cannot achieve this goal without tackling the scourge of gender-based violence (GBV). This work must involve input from all areas of society, from governments and communities, to businesses and individuals. Join the movement by taking action here to help end GBV in South Africa and beyond.
By Tina Charisma
I think we all knew this was going to happen.
In an update to a webpage titled What You Should Know About COVID-19 and the ADA, the Rehabilitation Act, and Other EEO Laws, the EEOC issued guidance to employers that permits them to require proof of Wuhan vaccination by workers and gives them the authority to bar unvaccinated workers from the workplace.
With the first doses of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine now being administered in the U.S., the federal government is giving employers around the country the green light to require immunization for most workers.
In general, companies have the legal right to mandate that employees get a COVID-19 shot, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) said Wednesday. More specifically, employers are entitled and required to ensure a safe workplace in which “an individual shall not pose a direct threat to the health or safety of individuals in the workplace.” That can mean a company requiring its workforce to be vaccinated.