Weekend File - December 5, 2020 - Forced COVID Vaccinations??
/Weekend Notes
Can an employer force an employee to take the COVID vaccine?
The daily news reports are full of stories about forthcoming vaccines against the COVID-19 virus. It seems that nearly every day another company announces their take on a vaccine for the deadly illness. There can be little doubt that at some point in 2021, there will be enough vaccine to go around and all Americans will have access to these important drugs.
But what if you don’t want to take it? Can your employer fire you for refusing to take a COVID vaccine?
As with most legal answers the answer is “Well…yes and no.”
Generally speaking, an employer can require its employees to take a vaccine as a condition of employment. As an example, most health care employers require their employees to take the yearly flu vaccine.
But there are exceptions. If you want to learn more about this issue and the exceptions available, I've made a short video on the topic. You can view it here. While you are there, please "Like" and "Subscribe" our new Youtube channel. That really helps us get our message out and we really appreciate it.
Legal Reads
EEOC Launches Searchable Database of Aggregated EEO-1 Data
In December 2018, the EEOC created the Office of Enterprise Data and Analytics (OEDA). Since its inception, the OEDA has been working on modernizing EEO data availability. On December 2, 2020 EEOC launched EEOC Explore, which aggregates publicly available EEO-1 data (currently limited to EEO-1 data sets from 2017 and 2018) into a series of interactive dashboards.
Civil Rights In Texas, The Supreme Court, And Qualified Immunity
FIRST A WARNING: THIS POST IS ABOUT PRISON CONDITIONS IN TEXAS, SO YOU WILL NEED A STRONG STOMACH TO CONTINUE READING.
What’s “So” Important: Computer Fraud and Abuse Act Gets a Close Look from SCOTUS
In a case with significant ramifications for employers concerned with protecting sensitive information, and for employees accused of abusing access to computer networks, the United States Supreme Court (“SCOTUS”) heard oral argument this week in Van Buren v. United States.
Weekend Reads
Trees appear to communicate and cooperate through subterranean networks of fungi. What are they sharing with one another?
When the wild salmon runs around Wuikinuxv, BC, were depleted, the local grizzly bears grew hungry — and dangerous. Now, as the salmon are returning, the community is asking a challenging new question: can we include the bears in the management of the fishery?
The Mystery of the Gatwick Drone
A drone sighting caused the airport to close for two days in 2018, but despite a lengthy police investigation, no culprit was ever found. So what exactly did people see in the Sussex sky?
