Yes, the Supreme Court blocked the federal vaccine mandate for business with 100 plus employees. But don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater!
You probably have done a lot of work to get ready for the vaccine mandate. But that doesn’t mean all your work was for nothing. You can still implement parts of the policy you were working on, stated employment attorney James Reid.
Create your own policy
As long as religious and medical exemptions are provided, legally employers are allowed to institute their own version of COVID-19 policies, including vaccination, explained Reid on mlive.com. Many of his clients plan to keep some version of the policy they were working on.
And you can still ask during the application process if candidates are vaccinated. It’s like drug testing or screening their social media, added Reid.
Employers should be prepared to lose some candidates if they do, but that’s just the way the cookie crumbles.
“Private employers have the right to deny constitutional liberties, like the right to bear arms,” said Reid, “if you set a workplace standard that employees cannot carry firearms while at work.”
As long as the policy you set isn’t illegal, you can implement the policy as a private employer.
Make employees feel safe
And with a large portion of the workforce still working remotely, a vaccine policy or mask policy is needed. Employees won’t return if they don’t feel safe.
Now, each company can tailor their policy. They don’t have to follow a federal blanket policy.
HR and Benefit pros can relax a little and create a policy that works for their company and employees.
And since the mandate has been blocked, employees who left due to having to follow the mandate may return.
The best thing to do now, if you haven’t already, is survey your employees. See how they feel about vaccination policies.
If employees feel you are listening to them, they are more likely to follow the policies and less likely to leave.
