Can employers require workers to get a COVID-19 vaccine?

A healthcare worker receives a dose of Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine at The Palace Nursing & Rehabilitation Center in Miami, Florida, U.S., on Tuesday, Dec. 29, 2020. (Photo: Eva Marie Uzcategui/Bloomberg)

Employers are currently evaluating whether to implement a mandatory COVID-19 vaccination program since two vaccines were recently approved and are in distribution. This evaluation process is even more critical with the onset of the flu season and the rising case numbers of coronavirus infections.

To start, an employer must determine if it needs to mandate the vaccine in their workplace by balancing the company’s ability to reduce or eliminate the spread of the virus through other administrative means available against avoiding the additional legal and operational risks associated with a mandatory program.