More and more companies are considering mandatory vaccinations for their employees. The picture shows the Mexican Consulate General in Los Angeles on the 8th to receive free vaccinations, attracting a large number of people of Mexican descent lined up for vaccination. (Associated Press)
With the expansion of the eligibility of the new crown vaccination, all adults over the age of 16 can be vaccinated with various vaccines. The vaccine is not only a hope to end the epidemic, but also a necessary credential for many people to access major public places now. As a result, after nearly a year of working from home and at a distance, many companies are considering making it mandatory for employees to get vaccinated or not return to the office. However, because vaccines have been politicized in the United States, mandatory vaccination policies at major companies are still in the planning stages.
Dirk Van De Put, CEO of Mondelez International Inc, the maker of Ritz Crackers, said the company does have a plan in place, but has not yet announced a final policy given the potential backlash from employees. We want to create a comfortable office environment, just like the one we had before the outbreak,” Put said. To do that, vaccinations will have to be mandatory.”
According to the U.S. Fair Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), which issued guidance on workplace vaccine policies last December, employers can mandate vaccinations for employees who do not have health or religious affiliation factors. When the guidelines were first released, surveys showed that companies’ willingness to implement mandatory vaccination policies soared, but then the willingness to implement similar policies declined because companies were reluctant to face the risk of potential lawsuits or manpower shortages caused by the resignation of sub-employees.
Although employees are not “mandated” to be vaccinated, many companies will directly set up vaccination stations in their companies to make it “soft” and mandatory for employees to be vaccinated. This means that most companies want all employees to be vaccinated, but are reluctant to announce mandatory vaccination policies in a politicized vaccine climate. The human resources consulting firm Willis Towers Watson said, “Everyone wants to do it, but everyone doesn’t want to be the first one to do it.”
Appliance maker Whirlpool (Whirlpool Corp.) is now offering a $200 incentive payment for each employee who gets vaccinated to encourage proactive vaccination. We believe that the vaccine is the only way to get everyone back to work, and it’s the only way to make our work environment safer,” said Jim Peters, chief financial officer. All of our senior executives who are eligible for the vaccine will take the lead in getting the vaccine, and we hope this will encourage employees to get vaccinated.”
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