Nathaniel M. Glasser, a Member of the Firm in the Employment, Labor & Workforce Management practice, in the firm’s Washington, DC, office, was quoted in Law360, in “4 Tips For Flu Shot Programs That Won’t Get You Sued,” by Braden Campbell. (Read the full version – subscription required.)
Following is an excerpt:
Health care employers and certain others have increasingly required their workers to get flu shots as a condition of employment, but these programs can invite suits from workers or the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission if implemented poorly.
With flu season just around the corner, employers that have implemented or are thinking about implementing mandatory flu shot programs need to tread carefully to avoid exposing themselves to liability, experts say. …
Employers aren’t powerless when a worker asserts an objection, however. If a worker does so falsely, their request is moot. And if letting a worker go unvaccinated would pose a hardship — exposing chemotherapy patients to disease when no transfer is available, for example — the employer can fire them. The latter route is smoother than the former, attorneys say.
“It’s difficult for employers to challenge an individual’s sincerely held religious belief, so the focus typically should be on whether there is an accommodation that can be made without undue hardship,” said Epstein Becker Green health employment and labor industry group co-leader Nathaniel Glasser.
Similarly, employers should focus on whether exempting a disabled worker poses a hardship, Glasser said.
