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Previous Updates
To seek a protective order, an employer must reasonably believe workplace violence has occurred against the employer or an employee and prove certain specified facts.
Notably, the revised statute expressly states that it does not relieve the employer of its duty to provide a safe workplace for its employees.
Employers are encouraged to provide written notice of such upon hire or prior to implementing this policy.
As noted in a previous FrankCrum news alert, the Governor has signed SB2004, which requires employers to relieve an employee from a COVID-19 vaccination requirement/mandate under certain conditions: (a) if receiving the vaccine would be injurious to the health and wellbeing of the employee or prospective employee; (b) if receiving the vaccine would conflict with a sincerely held religious belief, practice, or observance of the employee or prospective employee; or (c) if receiving the vaccine would conflict with a "sincerely held personal belief" of the employee or prospective employee.
While the first two exceptions are similar to what employers are required to consider under federal law, the third, which allows relief from a vaccine mandate if it conflicts with a "sincerely held personal belief," expands employee protections. The new law provides no definition or further explanation regarding a "sincerely held personal belief."
The law does not apply to employers with fewer than 15 employees that can establish a nexus between the vaccination requirement and the employee's assigned duties and responsibilities. What might establish this nexus is also unspecified.
For employers that have not mandated vaccinations as a condition of employment, but may have required regular testing or have established a "vaccine or test" requirement for employees, the law obligates the employer to pay for the testing requirements placed on employees.
SB2004 notes that employers may not "keep or maintain a record or copy of an employee's proof of vaccination" unless it is otherwise required by law or an established business practice or industry standard requires otherwise. While barring an employer from maintaining a record or copy of proof of vaccination, the law specifically states that it "does not prohibit an employer from recording whether an employee is vaccinated." As such, the law does not appear to prohibit an employer from requesting proof of vaccination in order to verify vaccination status as long as employers do not retain a copy of the employee's proof of vaccination.
SB2004 also states that an "employer" subject to the requirements of the law does not include a person subject to a regulation by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services regarding a COVID-19 vaccine rule impacting certain healthcare organizations. Additionally, "federal contractors" are not considered employers for purposes of the statute, but who qualifies as a federal contractor is not defined in the law.
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