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EEOC Says Employers Can Mandate Covid-19 Vaccine

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Nurse Ellen Quinones prepares a dose of the Moderna’s coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccine at the Bathgate Post Office vaccination facility in the Bronx, in New York, U.S., January 10, 2021. Kevin Hagen/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo

U.S. companies can mandate that employees in a workplace must be vaccinated against COVID-19, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) said on Friday.

The EEOC, in a statement posted on its website explaining its updated guidance, said employees can be required to be vaccinated as long as employers comply with the reasonable accommodation provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act and other laws.

In addition, employers may offer incentives to workers to be vaccinated, as long as they are not coercive, it said.

The vast majority of employers have been reluctant to require workers to be vaccinated. A survey by management-side law firm Fisher Phillips earlier this year found that only 9% of the more than 700 employers surveyed said they were considering mandating vaccines.