SAN DIEGO — COVID-19 vaccinations are on their way with shipments expected to be delivered as soon as next week. While many people are excited about getting the vaccine, others are not. This leads to the question - Can your work require you to get it?
When we posed that question on our CBS 8 Facebook page, we quickly got hundreds of posts from people passionate on both sides of the issue.
"Required? no way," said one person. "They don't even know the long term affects of the virus much less the vaccine. I will decline."
“Absolutely - employers who don't require it should be held liable if any employees or their families get sick," said another person.
Aaron Olsen is an attorney with the San Diego attorneys at Haeggquist & Eck, LLP, who specializes in employment law. Olsen said at this moment, there is no specific law that directly addresses whether employers can require their employees to get a COVID-19 vaccination. But based on previous pandemics, it appears one is coming - especially for those in high risk jobs like health care.
“Court of appeal already dealt with an issue where a health care system mandated their employees get the Rubella vaccination and that was challenged and the court said no,” Olsen said. “That was proper in that context because [of] the direct threat posed in that specific environment.”
Aaron said all employers have a duty to create a healthy and safe workplace, but if they're going to require the vaccine, they are also obligated to consider accommodation requests from employees with known disabilities that prevent them from getting a vaccination. Religious beliefs could be another exemption, but getting one is not as easy as just saying you have one.
“It can't be like, an employee coming in and saying, 'well my religion is I don't want to take vaccines, right? I'm an anti-vaxxer.' That's not going to work,” Olsen said. “That's not going to cut it.”
So what happens if your work forces you to get the vaccine and you have a reaction that makes you so sick you have to miss work for an extended amount of time? Aaron said you definitely have an argument for a workplace injury and should be entitled to money through worker's compensation.