Can an employer require its employee to vaccinate?

COVID-19 vaccines has given rise to a new question: Can employers require employees to vaccinate?

While the short answer is generally yes, there are legal and practical limitations.

On the legal side, an employer’s mandatory vaccine policy must provide exceptions for disability and religious accommodations.

On the other hand individuals particularly in lower-risk categories are hesitant to vaccinate absent longer-term vaccine safety testing. Therefore, employers mandating employees vaccinate by a date certain may have to address challenges such as employees who want to vaccinate but have no access and those who refuse to vaccinate but are valuable to the employer.

Of course Employers face other considerations too, ranging from issues of workplace safety, protected leave, remote work to workforce reductions.