SYRACUSE, N.Y. — If Pfizer’s coronavirus vaccine earns emergency use approval from the Food and Drug Administration this week, distribution could begin within a matter of days in New York.
Legally, employers can mandate their employees to get vaccinated. However, there are some exceptions.
Employees can object to it under the Americans with Disabilities Act if they have medical proof that it would endanger their physical health. Religious exemptions are another exception.
“If an employer exempts someone, then they would have to do their best to try and accommodate the person so they would be safe at the place of work,” says Tom Murphy, an attorney with Tully Rinckey law firm in Syracuse. “As long as it wasn’t too difficult to do it or expensive to do it.”