Jennifer Barna, Senior Counsel in the Employment, Labor & Workforce Management and Litigation practices, in the firm’s Newark office, was quoted in SHRM, in “Employers That Mandate Vaccines Defend Their Policies,” by Allen Smith.

Following is an excerpt:

While most employers are encouraging employees to get COVID-19 vaccinations, some organizations are requiring it. The legal risks of this mandate are emerging, but employers are standing their ground. …

Under guidance from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, employers are allowed to require vaccinations and to ask for proof of the vaccination.

"Certainly, for positions that are safety-sensitive or cannot be done remotely, an employer may, as a practical matter, have no reasonable option other than terminating an employee or not hiring an applicant where that person is refusing to get vaccinated for a nonprotected reason," said Jennifer Barna, an attorney with Epstein Becker Green in Newark, N.J.

Jump to Page

Privacy Preference Center

When you visit any website, it may store or retrieve information on your browser, mostly in the form of cookies. This information might be about you, your preferences or your device and is mostly used to make the site work as you expect it to. The information does not usually directly identify you, but it can give you a more personalized web experience. Because we respect your right to privacy, you can choose not to allow some types of cookies. Click on the different category headings to find out more and change our default settings. However, blocking some types of cookies may impact your experience of the site and the services we are able to offer.

Strictly Necessary Cookies

These cookies are necessary for the website to function and cannot be switched off in our systems. They are usually only set in response to actions made by you which amount to a request for services, such as setting your privacy preferences, logging in or filling in forms. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not then work. These cookies do not store any personally identifiable information.

Performance Cookies

These cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve the performance of our site. They help us to know which pages are the most and least popular and see how visitors move around the site. All information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. If you do not allow these cookies we will not know when you have visited our site, and will not be able to monitor its performance.