Reno attorneys, HR experts weigh in on concept of mandatory COVID vaccine for companies, employees
Northern Nevada Business Weekly, December 28, 2020, by Kaleb Roedel, for Northern Nevada business owners looking to bring employees back to work and bring customers peace of mind, there’s light at the end of the pandemic tunnel: two COVID-19 vaccines have been found effective and are approved for distribution.
What’s more, the federal government has given employers the green light to mandate workers get a vaccine and bar them from the workplace if they refuse.
The guidance, issued by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) on Dec. 16, confirmed what employment lawyers in the region had expected.
“I think the agencies are going to say, ‘yes, anything that we can do to stop COVID-19 is something that we want to support,’” Shannon Pierce, a labor and employment attorney at Fennemore Craig in Reno, said in a video interview with the NNBW. “Add to that, OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) requires all employers — even when we’re not in a pandemic — provide a workplace that is free from recognized hazards and harms.
“The only real way that we can do that is to provide a vaccine to the employees.”
About McDonald Carano
McDonald Carano has been shaping Nevada’s legal, business, and policy landscape since our founding in 1949. With more than 60 lawyers and government affairs professionals working from offices in Reno, Las Vegas, and Carson City, we are Nevada’s law firm for business. Our local, national and international clients include Fortune 500 corporations, fast-growth and mid-market companies, entrepreneurs and startups, non-profit organizations, government entities, and high-net-worth individuals. Our attorneys deliver cross-discipline, one-stop, business law and government affairs counsel. Please visit mcdonaldcarano.com
Media Contact
Mark Buckovich
mbuckovich@mcdonaldcarano.com
702.257.4559
Contributor
You have chosen to send an email to McDonald Carano. The sending or receipt of this email and the information in it does not in itself create an attorney-client relationship. If you are not already a client, you should not provide us with information that you wish to have treated as privileged or confidential without first speaking to one of our lawyers. If you provide information before we confirm that you are a client and that we are willing and able to represent you, we may not be required to treat that information as privileged, confidential, or protected information, and we may be able to represent a party adverse to you.
I have read this and want to send an email.