The Dotted Line: How to Navigate Vaccine Mandates, Construction Dive
The Dotted Line: How to Navigate Vaccine Mandates, Construction Dive
What can contractors do when they’re caught between demands for inoculated jobsites and a hesitant workforce? Construction Dive talks with several attorneys about the issue including Partner Chase Hattaway in this article published on August 31, 2021.
Chase notes, “Contractors, like most employers, must balance the need to have employees vaccinated and the current job market. Some companies may have no choice, while others may be better off encouraging employees to receive the vaccine, and requiring unvaccinated employees to take other steps to prevent the spread of the disease. These companies may also want to offer incentives to employees to encourage employees to receive the vaccine voluntarily.”
Those incentives may include something as small as a restaurant gift card, reasonable cash bonuses or extra paid time off. But contractors actually shouldn’t offer so much on this front that it would be perceived as punishing employees who chooses not to get the vaccine, or too high that it is coercive.