Fired for refusing a vaccine against Covid? You probably can’t get unemployment benefits

As businesses and lawmakers increasingly demand that workers be vaccinated against Covid-19, thousands of holdouts are losing their jobs – and they probably can’t collect unemployment benefits.

However, there may be exceptions, depending on the worker’s situation, according to employment experts. Some state legislatures are trying to completely change their rules.

“If you don’t want to be vaccinated, don’t have a religious or disability exemption, and you lose your job, there’s a good chance you won’t be eligible for unemployment compensation,” he said. said Christopher Moran, partner and labor lawyer. company Troutman Pepper Hamilton Sanders.

Northwell Health, New York’s largest healthcare provider, recently laid off 1,400 unvaccinated workers. ChristianaCare, Novant Health and UCHealth System – healthcare providers in Delaware, North Carolina and Colorado, respectively – have cut more than 100 workers each.

United Airlines is also set to lay off nearly 600 unvaccinated employees. And California-based Kaiser Permanente said Tuesday it has put more than 2,200 employees on unpaid leave across the country.

(In all these cases, the employees concerned represent a small part of the overall workforce of the companies.)

The problem could soon affect many more people – around 46% of organizations are considering instituting a vaccination mandate, according to a survey released by Gartner, a consulting firm, last month.

The U.S. Department of Labor is also expected to issue a rule soon requiring vaccines (or regular Covid testing) among companies with at least 100 employees. The White House is also requiring vaccines for all federal workers, contractors who work for the federal government, and healthcare workers in facilities receiving Medicare and Medicaid reimbursements.

Earlier this year, 28% of U.S. employees said they wouldn’t get a Covid vaccine even if it cost them their jobs, according to the Society for Human Resource Management. (The group interviewed 1,000 people in January and February.)

Workers are entitled to unemployment benefits in the event of “qualifying job separation,” according to Anne Paxton, lawyer and policy director at the Unemployment Bill, which represents people in appeal cases when their benefits were refused.

States differ somewhat in their definitions. In most cases, workers can collect benefits after being made redundant, quitting a job for a “good cause” or being fired for a reason other than “fault,” Paxton said.

However, an employment agency would likely view refusing to comply with a vaccination warrant as “misconduct,” she said. Losing his job as a result would likely result in a worker’s exclusion from benefits (if the refusal had not been for a medical or religious reason).

Likewise, resigning to avoid a mandate would probably not be considered a “good cause” either.

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“I think there is a very strong consensus that employers have the right to protect safety at work, and employees do not have the right to refuse to comply,” she said.

But there are variables and gray areas, which can vary from state to state, she added.

For example, a worker who benefits from an exemption from the obligation to be vaccinated for religious or medical reasons might not be dismissed, but placed on unpaid leave. Since they received a legitimate exemption, an employment agency could approve a claim for benefits.

“I think in that scenario you would probably be eligible,” Moran said.

Indeed, the language of state labor offices seems to leave room for maneuver in certain other cases.

“Some people may still qualify based on their own circumstances,” according to the Washington State Department of Employment Security.

Washington officials will assess factors such as when the employer adopted the vaccine requirement, the specific terms of the vaccine policy, and why the employee did not comply with the mandate. (If an employee is not entitled to religious or medical accommodation, their unemployment claim “would likely be denied,” the agency said.)

The New York State Department of Labor website takes a similar position. Workers who refuse an employer’s vaccine directive may be entitled to benefits “in certain cases if that person’s work is not exposed to the public and the worker has a compelling reason for refusing to comply. the directive, ”the office said.

However, in contrast, New York public employees and workers in healthcare facilities, nursing homes or schools would be disqualified (in the absence of a valid exemption) “because these are workplaces where an employer has a compelling interest in such a mandate, especially if it already requires further vaccinations, ”the office said.

Republican lawmakers in Tennessee proposed legislation earlier this year to allow workers who quit their jobs because of a vaccine requirement to collect unemployment benefits. Other state legislatures, such as those in Idaho and Michigan, are trying to completely ban terminations based on vaccination status. (These measures have not been successful so far.)

Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte signed a law in May banning vaccine requirements among employers.