Laurie Rogers
Colorado employers already grappling with mandatory paid sick leave and complex job posting requirements may now be obligated to implement mandatory vaccination policies for their employees.
On Monday, August 2, 2021, Denver Mayor Michael Hancock announced a mandatory vaccination requirement for the City’s 10,000-plus workers and certain private-sector workers in high-risk settings. Denver is the first major U.S. city to mandate COVID-19 vaccinations for private-sector employees. The City’s Department of Public Health & Environment (“DDPHE”) claims that, as the accredited public health agency for the City and County of Denver, it has the authority to mandate vaccinations to protect the public from immediate and imminent risk to its health and safety. See City of Denver FAQs.
The DDPHE Order (“Order”) requires employees who work for the following entities to be fully vaccinated by September 30, 2021:
- City and County of Denver employees;
- nursing facilities, assisted living residences, intermediate care facilities and group homes;
- hospitals;
- clinical settings- including ambulance service centers, urgent care centers, non-ambulatory surgical structures, clinics, dentist offices, and non-urgent care medical structures;
- limited healthcare settings where healthcare services are provided, including (but not limited to) acupuncture, audiology services, services by hearing aid providers, chiropractic care, massage therapy, naturopathic care, occupational therapy services, optometry, ophthalmology, physical therapy, and speech language pathology services;
- shelters for people experiencing homelessness, including day and overnight shelters;
- correctional facilities- including jails, detention centers and community corrections sites and residences;
- schools- including post-secondary and higher education (not including K-12 students);
- childcare centers and services;
- home care services; and
- first responder services.
Under the Order, fully-vaccinated employees are those who are two weeks past their second vaccine dose. This means that covered employees must have received their second dose (or first dose if getting the single-dose vaccine) by September 15, 2021. In addition, covered employers must complete their initial assessment of vaccination status of all employees by September 30, 2021. Those employees who decline to provide their vaccination status or whose vaccination status is unknown must be treated as not fully vaccinated. Hospitals may complete their initial assessment of vaccination status in conjunction with meeting their flu and other vaccination requirements.
According to City of Denver guidance, covered employees who are not fully vaccinated by September 30, 2021, will not be permitted to work onsite or in the field. Covered employers are left to decide how they will enforce the vaccination requirement with their employees, but according to the City’s FAQs, employers may choose disciplinary action to gain compliance, presumably even termination. Those covered employers and employees who do not comply with the vaccination requirement are subject to enforcement actions by the DDPHE, the agency tasked with enforcing the Order. The City has not yet issued a statement as to what those enforcement actions will be. Employers must provide reasonable accommodations for employees with medical or religious reasons for not getting vaccinated.
There are still many questions related to what this Order means for covered employees and employers alike. What is clear, however, is that covered employers without a current mandatory vaccination policy must put one in place as soon as possible to ensure they are compliant with the fast-approaching deadlines. Such employers must also make sure they are prepared to work with employees who request a medical or religious exemption to the vaccination.
