LOS ANGELES — As more people are vaccinated against COVID-19, employers in California could require shots for their employees. 


What You Need To Know

  • Labor attorney Bill Sokol says employers can terminate employees who refuse to be vaccinated against COVID-19

  • There are some exceptions to mandatory vaccinations, including disabilities and religious beliefs

  • Sokol said surveys show about half of employers in California do not plan to require their employees to show proof of vaccination

Labor attorney Bill Sokol tells Inside the Issues this practice is completely legal.

“They can send you home or terminate you if you don’t,” he said.

Sokol said the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission announced the guidelines in December 2020. Two exceptions include a disability that prevents someone from being vaccinated and a good faith religious belief.

“Someone can’t say ‘I don’t trust the vaccines,’ ‘I don’t like vaccines,’ ‘I’m opposed to vaccines.’ Those are not reasons that will allow you to say ‘no, I’m not going to be vaccinated’ and still keep your job,” Sokol told host Alex Cohen. 

Sokol said surveys show about half of employers in California do not plan to require their employees to show they have been vaccinated.

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