Today, May 28, 2021, the EEOC released updated guidance regarding employer-provided vaccine incentives. Within the guidance, the EEOC confirmed employers can offer incentives to encourage employees to get vaccinated. Please note there is different guidance if the employer (or its agent) will be providing the vaccination shots to the employees. A complete copy of the EEOC’s guidance can be found here: What You Should Know About COVID-19 and the ADA, the Rehabilitation Act, and Other EEO Laws | U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (eeoc.gov).
Employer Incentives For COVID-19 Voluntary Vaccinations Under ADA and GINA
ADA: Employer Incentives for Voluntary COVID-19 Vaccinations
- Under the ADA, may an employer offer an incentive to employees to voluntarily provide documentation or other confirmation that they received a vaccination on their own from a pharmacy, public health department, or other health care provider in the community? (5/28/21)
Yes. Requesting documentation or other confirmation showing that an employee received a COVID-19 vaccination in the community is not a disability-related inquiry covered by the ADA. Therefore, an employer may offer an incentive to employees to voluntarily provide documentation or other confirmation of a vaccination received in the community. As noted elsewhere, the employer is required to keep vaccination information confidential pursuant to the ADA.
GINA: Employer Incentives for Voluntary COVID-19 Vaccinations
- Under GINA, may an employer offer an incentive to employees to provide documentation or other confirmation that they or their family members received a vaccination from their own health care provider, such as a doctor, pharmacy, health agency, or another health care provider in the community? (5/28/21)
Yes. Under GINA, an employer may offer an incentive to employees to provide documentation or other confirmation from a third party not acting on the employer’s behalf, such as a pharmacy or health department, that employees or their family members have been vaccinated. If employers ask an employee to show documentation or other confirmation that the employee or a family member has been vaccinated, it is not an unlawful request for genetic information under GINA because the fact that someone received a vaccination is not information about the manifestation of a disease or disorder in a family member (known as family medical history under GINA), nor is it any other form of genetic information. GINA’s restrictions on employers acquiring genetic information (including those prohibiting incentives in exchange for genetic information), therefore, do not apply.
Have questions about how to incentivize your employees to get vaccinated for COVID-19? Don’t worry, we’re here to help!
