Bass, Berry & Sims attorney Mary Leigh Pirtle responded to the Biden administration’s vaccine mandate for employers with 100 or more employees requiring COVID-19 vaccines or weekly testing of workers. The mandate was issued September 9 but there are still many unanswered questions about implementation, verification, and timing for the vaccine requirement.

Until further guidance is issued, Mary Leigh is advising “clients to survey their workforces on how many people are vaccinated in preparation. There’s not much else they can do but wait for clarification.”

She added, “Exemptions from the rule can be made based on religious beliefs and disabilities. Otherwise, employers have the right to fire workers for not being vaccinated.”

The full article, “Biden Vaccine Mandate Brings Mixed Views and Many Questions from Tennessee Businesses,” was published by The Tennessean on September 15 and is available online.

Mary Leigh wrote about this topic on the firm’s HR Law Talk blog following the vaccine mandate from the Biden administration last week. Her analysis can be found here.