Welcomed and Unwelcomed: Vaccinations in the Workplace

By Reagan Williams

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Places across the country are closing in on people that have elected not to get vaccinated and letting them know they aren’t welcomed. If you want to attend a Broadway play, eat in restaurants or travel to certain countries, vaccination has become the expectation. In New York city, a vaccination card is your pass to enjoy dining, entertainment and to attend the gym. Similar rules apply to San Francisco to patronize bars, clubs and indoor events. Colleges such The Ohio State University are requiring faculty and staff to be vaccinated. Therefore, there are certain privileges that people can no longer do in the United States. However, are people getting the message?

Since the summer, employers have been telling workers to get vaccinated from Johnson & Johnson, Microsoft and McDonald’s representing larger employers in the country. The Biden Administration has been rolling out their vaccine mandate. If a person works for a company with 100 or more employees, people will have until Jan. 4, 2022 to get vaccinated as a directive from the Biden Administration. In November, a federal appeals court called the vaccine testing requirements for private businesses, “fatally flawed.” Currently, there are 26 Republican attorney generals seeking to turn over the mandates with five states challenging the mandates in federal appellate court. If employees do not get vaccinated by January 4, then they will have to get weekly COVID tests to enter their workplace. So, can the government require vaccinations?

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The answer is “yes,” dating back to 1905 for large- scale vaccination requirements. In 1901, there was a deadly smallpox outbreak in New England, which led local governments to implement mandatory vaccinations. People refused to get vaccinated and claimed it violated their personal liberties under the constitution. An anti-vaccine crusader, Henning Jacobson, a Swedish-born pastor, went to the Supreme Court. In the case of Jacobson vs. Massachusetts, 197 U.S. 11, the Court upheld the authority of states to enforce compulsory vaccination laws. The decision became known as the “reasonableness” test. Basically, our government has the authority to pass laws that restrict individual liberty. The guise of the laws states that people can be punished for violating them and the Court has reasonable means for achieving a public good.

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If you’re still on the fence on where you should get vaccinated or not, what options do you have in terms of the workforce? There are individuals and companies that believe people should not have their vaccination status determined by an HR department. Despite pressure being placed on unvaccinated individuals, some companies are not requiring workers to be vaccinated in the workplace. There are job boards out there that are offering people the freedom of choice of what they put into their body. One job board is Redballoon.Work which started in August by Andrew Crapuchettes. This site lists over 600 companies that place value on the people and not employer politics. Another job board is the NoVax Mandate Job Board. This job board renders individuals control without interference or restraint from other people. However, if you can’t find a job on either one of these job boards, working remotely from home is an option. A person can focus on those types of industries or decide to start their own business. No matter your vaccination status, our lives as we knew it in 2019 are vastly different from what we could’ve imagined today or for the future as a result of COVID-19.

Learn Even More

Are Vaccine Mandates Effective?

The New Normal: Unvaccinated and Vaccinated Employees in the Workplace