Should COVID-19 vaccinations be mandatory for mobile employees? Take our Mobility Minute Survey!

Many companies are struggling with whether to require vaccinations for employees returning to the office. It's a polarizing topic where context matters and different industries have varying opinions due to the impact it would have on their businesses. Health care, travel, retail or other businesses whose employees are at risk or who present a risk to others will have more business reasons to be "pro-vaccine" while office-based businesses or businesses that can rely on remote workers may find it easier to take a "personal-choice" position. 

If you are looking for resources for where vaccines are mandatory and what the penalties might be for non-compliance, this research from McGill University is valuable. The study compares policies around the world and broad implementation of mandatory vaccination mandates. However, it reveals that the penalties for failing to vaccinate differ significantly by country, ranging from fines to jail time. Researchers found that 105 out of the 193 countries (54%) studied had evidence of a national mandatory vaccination policy that required at least one vaccine. Of those, 62 countries (59%) also have one or more penalties that can be imposed on individuals who do not comply. 

In the United States, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC, a government agency that administers and enforces civil rights laws against workplace discrimination) ruled that companies could mandate vaccines as a requirement for coming into the office. So, technically, yes, a person can be fired for not getting vaccinated if their company mandates it. There are, however, exceptions must be made for employees who cannot be vaccinated because of disabilities or due to sincerely held religious beliefs. Employers do not have to accommodate secular or medical beliefs about vaccines.

If you have a lot of time and want to get really deep into it, read, "What You Should Know About COVID-19 and the ADA, the Rehabilitation Act, and Other EEO Laws." Probably would take you less time to just sign up, go in and get the vaccination, though. 

While companies debate mandatory vaccination for employees coming back into the office, should mobility programs be considering mandating vaccinations at least for their globally mobile population? Many are working through a variety of scenarios where mobile employees could catch or spread the disease as they consider how to handle the situation. 

To give mobility teams some additional benchmarking, we are rolling out a quick Plus Pulse Survey related to vaccines and global mobility. Take a minute to tap in and take it and we'll send you the summary results. 

In the meantime, if you are looking for some additional resources, get the latest guidance and tips on the COVID-19 vaccine from International SOS.