As we enter flu season (in the midst of a national spike in COVID-19 cases), and it now appears that a COVID-19 vaccine is on the horizon, employers are struggling with whether they should require employees to be vaccinated...more
Flu season is upon us. Can employers require a flu shot? More importantly, should they? The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) emphasizes that getting a flu vaccine this year is “more important than ever...more
With the outbreak of the corona virus dominating headlines, it is a great time to dust off the company policy on dealing with flu season and infectious diseases, generally, in the workplace. Contagious diseases are...more
Q: Can I require that my employee get vaccinated? A: This question most frequently comes up in relationship to the flu vaccine but, with the national focus on measles, this question has also been asked more broadly...more
Recent actions by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) emphasize employers’ obligations under Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act to accommodate workers’ religious objections to receiving a flu vaccination. ...more
Hospital Demanded Employee Take Flu Shot Despite His Religious Beliefs, Federal Agency Charged - NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Saint Thomas Health (STH), operating Saint Thomas Rutherford Hospital in Murfreesboro, Tenn., will pay...more
The annual flu season is upon us, and once again, employers with mandatory flu vaccine programs are wrestling with the prospect of complex employment litigation. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (“CDC”)...more
It’s that time of year again, with many employers offering free flu shots to employees in hopes of reducing flu-related absences and resulting productivity decreases in the months ahead. Most often, a flu shot is offered as a...more
This is not the first time you’ve heard from us about flu shots in the workplace. And here we are again. Each flu season, employers find themselves in the hot seat when well-intentioned attempts to implement a policy...more
Dear Littler: I work in a health care setting in New Jersey. As flu season is approaching, we emailed all of our patient care employees (nurses, physical therapists, intake staff, etc.) to remind them that an immunization is...more
As we have just survived one of the worst flu seasons in recent memory, now is a good time to consider whether you should implement or revise a mandatory flu shot policy for 2018. The Center for Disease Control and...more
Many healthcare providers in North Carolina have instituted policies requiring their employees who have patient contact to receive the flu vaccine each year. Such policies will typically include a process by which an employee...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: The Department of Justice filed a lawsuit on behalf of a nursing home employee alleging she was forced to receive a flu shot to keep her job when she could not provide a note from a clergy member in support...more
Are you in the know? Yeah, I'm sorry. I should have an in-depth, incisive legal analysis of the Sixth Circuit panel decision in EEOC v. R.G. and G.R. Harris Funeral Homes, Inc. That was my plan, and I promise that I will --...more
According to the Centers for Disease Control (“CDC”), the United States experiences a flu season each year. With this year’s flu season considered one of the worst since the 2009-2010 pandemic, many employers wish to...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: Mandatory vaccines and flu shots present challenges to employers attempting to accommodate the sincerely held religious beliefs of employees. In this case, a hospital worker claimed that he was terminated...more
The last months of the year are marked by holidays, family, snow days -- and influenza, commonly known as the flu. For the 2017-2018 flu season, the Center for Disease Control ("CDC") recommends adults receive an injectable...more
Frustrated with the high number of employees that did not show up for work in the fall and winter last year, Jim Duncey, the owner of Duncey’s Caps, Inc., issues a memo to all employees that they must provide proof that they...more
With ever-increasing employer health care costs, it’s not surprising that Workplace Wellness Programs are becoming more common and comprehensive. According to Fidelity Investment’s fifth annual wellness survey, 95% of...more
You are an HR generalist at a 300-bed community hospital. Your boss has instructed you to make sure that all personnel files document that the employee received the hospital’s annual mandatory flu vaccination. However, you...more
If the goals for the healthcare industry could be distilled to a single word, that word would be “quality.” But the manner in which a provider achieves this varies widely. What works for a large system may not be appropriate...more
In its continuing effort to press employers to accommodate workers under a variety of circumstances, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) recently sued a Massachusetts hospital over its flu shot policy. The June...more
As the summer comes to an end, the dreaded flu season, which impacts employers across the country, looms ahead. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (“CDC”), the flu season can begin as early as October...more