Can your boss require you to have a COVID-19 vaccination as a condition of employment? Elon Law's Eric Fink addressed that question (short answer: yes, with caveats) for a regional broadcast news report.
An Elon Law expert on labor law spoke with a Triad news station for a March 30 report on the freedoms that companies have in requiring workers to receive a COVID-19 vaccination as a condition of employment.
Associate Professor Eric Fink answered questions from WXII 12 News journalist Lee Anne Denyer about what employers can and can’t ask regarding vaccines and health information.
“For the most part, if an employer chose to have a policy requiring all or certain kinds of employees to be vaccinated, it would generally be able to do that,” Fink said. “The main limits on that would be based on employment discrimination law, particularly for employees who might have a religious objection to vaccination or employees who may have a medical condition.”
As for medical privacy laws? Fink noted that, generally, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act applies to doctors and health care providers, but the employers can still require your consent to vaccines as a condition of employment.
At Elon Law, Fink teaches professional responsibility, employment law, consumer law, and cause lawyering. He has also taught civil procedure, labor law, and business associations. His research examines legal problems and institutions from a sociological perspective.