COVID-19 Vaccine Mandates, Employee Rights, and Exemptions

Bioethics for the People

What is going on with COVID-19 vaccine mandates? Are vaccine mandates legal or ethical? Exemptions— are those allowed and what are they?

Professor Elizabeth Pendo, an expert on health law, disability rights, and bioethics at Saint Louis University School of Law, helps us understand what is going on with COVID-19 vaccine mandates. Prof. Pendo talks about the reasons why employers might create a requirement for a vaccine, and also what rights employees have.

Check out more from the episode and Prof Pendo’s work below:

• COVID-19 Employee Health Checks, Remote Work, and Disability Law

• Resolving Tensions Between Disability Rights Law and COVID-19 Mask Policies

• Yang, Y. Tony and Pendo, Elizabeth and Reiss, Dorit Rubinstein, The Americans with Disabilities Act and Healthcare Employer-Mandated Vaccinations. 38(16) Vaccine 3184 (Apr. 3, 2020), UC Hastings Research Paper No. 390, Saint Louis U. Legal Studies Research Paper No. 2020-12, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3614824

• Pendo, Elizabeth, Protecting the Rights and Wellbeing of People with Disabilities during the COVID-19 Pandemic (February 15, 2021). Burris, S., de Guia, S., Gable, L., Levin, D.E., Parmet, W.E., Terry, N.P. (Eds.) (2021). COVID-19 Policy Playbook: Legal Recommendations for a Safer, More Equitable Future. Boston: Public Health Law Watch., Saint Louis U. Legal Studies Research Paper No. 2021-12, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3812630