Pub. 3 2021 issue 1

8 Employees working in high-risk environments or with high-risk populations (i.e., food service and food processing, health care, nursing homes, and schools) may have fewer options for accommodating vaccine exemptions, especially given the risk surrounding the efficacy of PPE measures in industries requiring constant exposure and close face-to- face contact. But again, the EEOC guidance makes clear that the number of employees vaccinated will have a bearing on this analysis. (f) Religious Exemptions to a Mandatory Vaccine Requirement Similar to the disability-related exemptions, the EEOC guidance reiterates that employers who plan to require a vaccine also provide an exemption where the employee maintains a “sincerely held religious belief” or observance which prevents them from taking the vaccine. This standard is fairly broad and encompasses more than traditional organized religions, but the protection would not extend to employees who seek an exemption due to political beliefs, personal objections to vaccinations, or safety-related concerns with the vaccine. The EEOC notes that as in the case of the ADA, Title VII also allows employers to deny an employee’s request for an exemption to a mandatory vaccination if the employer can show an “undue hardship” by allowing the employee to forgo the vaccine. Again, the EEOC makes clear this would hinge on the individual circumstances applicable to each case but would largely depend on the employer’s ability to provide alternative protections for the employee, the rest of its workforce and, where necessary, members of the general public. (g) Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA) Implications Lastly, the EEOC makes clear that simply administering the COVID-19 vaccine to employees or requiring employees to provide proof that they received the COVID-19 vaccine does not implicate Title II of GINA because it does not involve genetic information as defined by the law. Under Title II of GINA, employers may not use, acquire or disclose an employee’s genetic information in connection with their employment, subject to six narrow exceptions. As with the ADA, prescreening questions, or where an employee provides more than just proof of vaccination, continued from page 7 may still implicate GINA. Accordingly, the EEOC advises that employers avoid prescreening questions that implicate genetic information (which should be fairly easy to do) or require employees to obtain the vaccine through their own means and simply provide proof of the same employer, without any extraneous medical information. While the updated EEOC guidance provides certain clarification for employers contemplating workplace vaccination strategies, the exceptions and exemptions under the ADA and Title VII are fact-intensive and will vary widely. Employers who intend to adopt mandatory vaccination programs are advised to review potential reasonable accommodations for disabilities and sincerely held religious beliefs and strategize how they will respond to such requests to minimize legal exposure under Title VII and the ADA. 2. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) While OSHA has also not yet provided specific COVID-19 vaccination guidance, its longstanding position regarding the flu and other vaccines indicates support for employer mandates so long as employees are “properly informed of the benefits of vaccinations.” The agency has caveated this by clarifying that an employee who refuses a vaccine due to a medical condition that the employee reasonably believes would cause serious illness or death may still be protected by Section 11(c) of the OSH Act, which governs whistleblower claims based on workplace health and safety. Furthermore, it is worth noting that in its interim guidance issued in May of 2020, OSHA had encouraged its own investigators to obtain the COVID-19 vaccination as soon as it became available. There is likewise widespread speculation that OSHA may look to apply the General Duty Clause, OSHA’s general citation standard, to issue citations to employers who fail to offer the COVID-19 vaccination to its workforce as an enhanced safety measure. As with the EEOC, additional guidance is expected to shed light on the direction of OSHA’s enforcement position on this topic. 3. Workers’ Compensation On a similar note, what happens if an employer recommends or requires a COVID-19 vaccine for its employees and the employee is injured due to the vaccine? Most likely, state workers’ compensation coverage would come into play to cover any physical injury, whether due to a vaccine side effect or other physical injury to the employee caused by the vaccine. This would generally be true in the case where an employer recommends, requires, pays for, or administers the COVID-19 vaccine at its worksite. On the flipside, workers’ compensation coverage would likely not apply in a scenario where an employee obtains a COVID-19 vaccine without the recommendation, mandate or sponsorship from the employer. Typically, subject to some state-specific exceptions, workers’ compensation serves as the exclusive remedy for employees who sustain physical injuries within the course and scope of employment. In other words, an employee would be limited to pursuing workers’ compensation benefits and cannot pursue tort claims against the employer absent a showing of willful