Last Updated on May 27, 2021
A new survey suggests that 83% of U.S. employers do not intend to make COVID-19 vaccines mandatory for their employees, while another 13% say they have yet to decide. Only 4% of those surveyed say they intend to make the controversial vaccines mandatory for employment.
The survey, conducted by Fisher Phillips and first reported by Law360, reveals that while the overwhelming majority of employers do not intend to make the COVID-19 vaccine a must-have to secure or maintain employment, 75% of employers are encouraging their employees to receive one of the vaccines.
Of the employers who will not force vaccinate their employees, “over half said they thought their workers were already vaccinated if they wanted to be, while 15% said they don’t think their employees want the shot, and 3% were concerned about safety.” Another third of respondents worried that they could not legally require the COVID-19 vaccine for their employees.
Additionally, Law360 notes that Fisher Phillips partner Kevin Troutman, “who leads the firm’s vaccine work group,” believes the large number of employers who do not intend to require vaccines may reflect concerns of legal issues from employees who are not choosing to receive one of the controversial vaccines. Troutman says most states will allow employers to mandate the vaccine.
The survey was conducted between May 14 and May 19 and participants were “over 600 in-house counsel”. Law360 notes that these results reflect that of a similar survey conducted by Fisher Phillips in January, which saw 9% of employers suggest COVID-19 vaccines would be mandatory, and 75% suggest they would simply encourage employees to become vaccinated.
Vaccines have continued to be a polarizing issue, with the CDC now admitting that they are investigating the number of young people who became ill with heart issues after receiving the vaccines. National File has been repeatedly fact checked on this issue by Twitter and Facebook fact checkers, only to have the CDC and local news outlets repeatedly provide evidence that younger people may experience a higher rate of adverse side effects to vaccines.
