Pub. 11 2021 Issue 4

8 illinoisdealers.com Automobile Dealer News JULIE CARDOSI Law Office of Julie A. Cardosi, P.C. IADA Counselor’s Corner Current And Continued Challenges for Business Employers in the Workplace Against the Backdrop of the Ongoing Pandemic With the current spread of COVID-19 variants, many businesses, including dealerships, are facing challenges associated with requiring proof of employees’ vaccination status, wearing masks and submitting to regular COVID-19 testing. Dealerships should consult with their own private attorneys about the careful development of vaccination policies to address these issues. Earlier this year, the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and several state and local public health authorities had lessened some of the restrictions relative to fully vaccinated individuals. However, with the more recent onset of the very transmissible delta variant, resulting in an increase of COVID-19 cases throughout the country, the CDC and other public health agencies continue to announce additional changes which, as of the writing of this article, include without limitation, recommending that fully vaccinated individuals wear masks in certain indoor venues. Other recent measures have included the federal government (along with certain state and local authorities) requiring certain public employees and those who work in high-risk environments (e.g., health care) to show proof of vaccination or submit to regular Covid-19 testing, wear masks and physically distance from fellow employees and customers or visitors. Some businesses and companies have announced vaccination and testing policies that are operative with respect to their employees. In doing so, these businesses are traversing the balance between employee and workplace safety and privacy considerations. Indeed, while some states are issuing vaccine and testing mandates, others are attempting to prevent businesses and government agencies from requiring individuals to show proof of vaccination status. The following general principles can assist businesses as they work with their legal advisers to address some of the issues in the development of their own policies. First, while an employer may have a legitimate business need to inquire about an employee’s vaccination status, proposed questions about vaccination status should, at a minimum, be reviewed with the business’s attorney. Employers must exercise caution to avoid making medical inquiries 1 in contravention of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and other similar laws. The federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has commented 2 that if employers ask employees to provide vaccination proof, they should consider warning the employee not to provide any medical information as part of the proof to avoid implicating the ADA. If a business were to require