Haynes and Boone, LLP Partner Adam Sencenbaugh talked with HR Magazine about the legal risks of newly released vaccine management tools that can help HR leaders track the COVID-19 immunization status of their workers.
Here is an excerpt:
Data Privacy and Security Issues
Experts say using these technologies to collect, store and analyze employee vaccination data comes with legal risks and requires appropriate care in handling.
"Whatever tool is used, employers should be careful to ensure that in receiving the vaccine data, they are not also receiving other medical information from or about employees," said Adam Sencenbaugh, a partner with law firm Haynes and Boone in Austin, Texas.
Sencenbaugh said in collecting vaccine-related data, employers should ensure that whatever technology or process they use isn't making any disability-related inquiry covered under the Americans with Disabilities Act.
"The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has stated that simply asking for proof of receipt of a vaccine is not such an inquiry, but further questions, such as asking why an employee did not or perhaps could not receive a vaccine, might be," he said.
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