The California Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) has updated its COVID-19 guidance, addressing several vaccination-related questions. The updated guidance replaces the version last updated on July 24, 2020.
Here are quick article highlights we believe your should know:
- An employer may require employees to receive an FDA-approved vaccination so long as the employer complies with the Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA), meaning it “does not discriminate against or harass employees or job applicants on the basis of a protected characteristic, provides reasonable accommodations related to disability or sincerely-held religious beliefs or practices, and does not retaliate against anyone for engaging in protected activity (such as requesting a reasonable accommodation).”
- If an employee objects to vaccination on the basis of disability, employers must engage in the interactive process with, and reasonably accommodate, the employee.
- Employers don’t have to provide accommodations that result in “undue hardship.” In those circumstances, the DFEH says employers may “exclude the employee from the workplace.”
- If an employee objects to the vaccine solely because they don’t “trust that the vaccine is safe,” the DFEH says that employers likely don’t have to accommodate them.
- If the vaccination is administered by a third-party, employers can require an employee or job applicant to provide proof of vaccination.