THE GOOD: As we await the highly anticipated final rule on the federal vaccine mandate, we are seeing a few leaks. Bloomberg is reporting that workers who refuse to get the COVID-19 shot can be forced to pay for required weekly tests and masks. As you may recall, under the proposed federal mandate workers who are not vaccinated must undergo weekly COVID-19 testing, practice social distancing, and wear a mask. Who pays for those protocols has been one of many questions. Assuming the leak is accurate, the employer may pay the costs but can also pass it on to employees who refuse to be vaccinated. (Of course this assumes those employees continue to be employed but that is a different blog.)
THE BAD: Employers cannot pass on the testing and mask costs to employees who remain unvaccinated for valid religious or medical exemptions under federal law. Also, if you have a unionized workforce, the costs may need be addressed through collective bargaining, if not already anticipated in the union contract.
THE UGLY: Oh so much about rule making is messy! We do not know when the actual rules will drop. In the meantime 19 (yes, 19) states have filed four separate lawsuits to block the Executive Order mandating vaccines.
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