According to Littler Mendelson's "COVID-19 Vaccine Employer Survey Report," nearly half of the organizations represented by more than 1,800 in-house lawyers, HR professionals and C-suite executives surveyed in mid-January have already decided they won't impose a vaccination mandate for their employees. Just 6% plan to mandate a vaccination for all employees and 43% are unsure, as shown here:
While most organizations plan to take one or more actions consistent with encouraging employees to get the vaccine (e.g., information; on-site administration, if feasible; PTO to get the vaccine and recover from any side effects), relatively few (11%) are incentivizing it via cash awards through a company wellness program or otherwise. Top concerns expressed by respondents concerning a vaccination mandate were resistance from employees who are not in a protected category but who refuse to get the COVID-19 vaccine or oppose vaccination generally, the impact of implementing a mandate on company culture/employee morale, and legal liability if employees experience adverse reactions to the vaccine.
Nearly half of the organizations represented by the respondents indicated that they will continue remote work for all employees who are able to do so until at least summer, although 37% said they are now allowing employees the option to work on-site.
All respondents were US-based and represented organizations across workforce sizes and industries.
See "Few Employers Embrace Covid Vaccine Mandates, Survey Shows" (Bloomberg Law) and additional resources on our Coronavirus (COVID-19) Resources page. This post first appeared in the weekly Society Alert!