Can companies demand a COVID-19 vaccine to get employees back to work?

OAKLAND PARK, Florida – As the COVID-19 vaccine rollout continues in South Florida and hope for a return to normal grows, new questions and concerns are being raised.

One of those questions is whether companies are allowed to require employees to receive the vaccine before they can return to work. Another is whether potential employers can require vaccination to be considered for a new job.

Labor attorney Eric Ruden told Local 10 News’ Saira Anwer that unless you have a medical or religious exemption, your employer could legally require you to be vaccinated against COVID 19.

He also said the refusal could pose a risk of dismissal.

“Right now everyone knows the vaccine has not been so available,” Ruden said. “It would be up to the employer to determine: do I want to allow this employee to continue working without the vaccine? Do I want to force this employee to work remotely or do I want to fire this employee? “

A d

Ruden said he doesn’t expect many employers to demand it again, at least not until the vaccine is available to everyone.

He also said the requirement to show proof of vaccination did not violate privacy laws.

“Many employers have taken the position, ‘We’re going to wait and see,’” Ruden said.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis also weighed in on the subject.

“It is totally unacceptable that the government or the private sector impose a requirement on you to show proof of a vaccine just to be able to participate in normal society,” DeSantis said.

At CareerSource Broward, a business center for job seekers and employers, executives said at present they were not seeing employers demanding that candidates be vaccinated.

“We encourage people to make informed decisions,” said Javon Lloyd, senior director of communications at CareerSource Broward. “There may be a few that exist, but we haven’t seen a huge demand from employers.”