With the public health pandemic entering its 15th month, many are looking at vaccines as a way to get to a new-normal. At the 2021 NJSBA Annual Meeting, attorneys and experts discussed the intricacies of mandatory vaccinations.
“Vaccination Fascination-Potential Pitfalls for Employers Requiring Mandatory COVID-19 Shots” featured Keith Waldman, Kimberly Jefferies Leonard, Ph.D., Sanford Oxfeld, NJSBA Trustee John L. Shahdanian II and Stephanie Wilson.
The question of whether employers can compel employees to get vaccinated is not an easy one to answer, there are many variables that depend on who people work for and with, the panelists said.
For instance, the New Jersey School Boards Association has said that vaccines cannot be mandated absent an act of the Legislature. Waldman said. On the private side, a non-union employer could mandate a condition of returning to work that people get vaccinated, but not without allowing exceptions, said Wilson. The issue of exceptions that need to be made for people who cannot get vaccination because they are immunocompromised or have other reasons is another topic that will require rigor and meaningful discussions, panelists said.
One panelist urged those who are eligible for the vaccination to get it for a very simple reason: you can get COVID-19 again.