Employers Start Requiring Vaccines for New Hires

The Wall Street Journal reports that employers are starting to require Covid-19 vaccinations for new hires. Read more here.

Among the companies and positions requiring vaccinations were:

• Restaurant in New York
• Camp guide in Alaska
• HR assistant in California
• Meatpacking giant, JBS USA Holdings
• Recycling plant in Kentucky
• Houston Methodist Hospital is requiring all 26,000 current and future employees to be vaccinated

Employers can legally require vaccines as a condition of employment, though religious beliefs and pre-existing medical conditions must be accommodated. Employers can also require proof of vaccination.

Many employers are offering paid time off (4 hours) for vaccinations especially now that a tax credit is available and vaccines are becoming widely available.

Eligible employers, such as businesses and tax-exempt organizations with fewer than 500 employees and certain governmental employers, can receive a tax credit for providing paid time off for each employee receiving the vaccine and for any time needed to recover from the vaccine. For example, if an eligible employer offers employees a paid day off in order to get vaccinated, the employer can receive a tax credit equal to the wages paid to employees for that day (up to certain limits).