Haynes Boone Associate Mini Kapoor, Ph.D. talked with HR Magazine about employers’ best practices and response to conflicting mandates on vaccines and testing.
Below is an excerpt:
When the White House announced COVID-19 vaccination requirements for federal employees and contractors—and a pending vaccine-or-testing rule for certain private employers—several states responded by initiating their own rules that allow for more exemptions than the federal requirements. This has caused confusion for many business leaders and HR professionals.
Mini Kapoor, an attorney with Haynes Boone in Houston,[said] employers should continue to strongly encourage vaccination in the workplace and follow all feasible COVID-19 safety recommendations in accordance with current guidance from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. . . .
The federal OSHA standard may not cover employers with less than 100 employees, and the federal contractor rules will not apply to many private employers. Employers in Texas not covered by those rules may need to comply with Abbott's order, Kapoor explained. She noted that employers in the health care sector may be covered by an anticipated vaccine mandate from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, which may also pre-empt the Texas order for covered workplaces.
To read the full article, click here.
