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As COVID-19 vaccines have become more widely available, many employers have been faced with the questions of whether and how to request vaccination information from employees. As discussed below, Massachusetts employers generally
can ask for and collect this information (including vaccination cards), but whether it is a good idea to do so is another story.
Thankfully, U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has provided some guidance addressing this topic. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) generally prohibits employers from asking “disability-related inquiries” (i.e., questions that are likely to elicit information about a disability), except in certain limited circumstances where the question is “job-related and consistent with business necessity.” However, according to EEOC guidance, merely asking or requiring an employee to show proof of receipt of a COVID-19 vaccination is not a “disabi
On March 5, 2021, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) ruled in
DeWeese-Boyd v. Gordon College, et. al. that an associate professor at a private, Christian liberal arts college did not constitute a ministerial employee and could pursue claims against the college under various Massachusetts anti-discrimination laws. The decision has far-reaching implications for religious employers in Massachusetts, as the SJC significantly narrowed the application of the so-called ministerial exception to Massachusetts anti-discrimination laws and clarified that not all educators at religious institutions qualify as ministers under the law.
In
DeWeese-Boyd, the plaintiff, a tenured Associate Professor at Gordon College (the “College”), alleged that the College discriminated against her on the basis of her association with LGBTQ+ persons, and retaliated against her for speaking out against the College’s policies and practices related to individuals who identif