Sixty percent of people questioned by a Pew Research Survey say they plan to get vaccinated for COVID. But for the other 40 percent can your employer require you to be inoculated? According to Loyola Law Professor Dane Ciolino in Louisiana the short answer is yes.
“An at-will employee can be fired if he or she does not comply with an employer’s mandate that they obtain a vaccine to COVID,” said Ciolino.
Ciolino said exceptions would be, for example, if an employee has a collective bargaining agreement, or they could be protected under certain federal laws if they have a disability, a sincere religious belief…
“Or has a legitimate medical reason for not obtaining the vaccine. The employer would likely have to give that employee a reasonable accommodation,” said Ciolino.
Health experts said vaccine mandates are to be expected in some professions such as healthcare and public education. Ciolino said this is not the first time the issue has gone to court.
“This issue has been addressed in the context of flu vaccines in years past and I would think that the logic that applies there would apply here,” said Ciolino.
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