New guidance says businesses can require employees to get vaccinated and bar unvaccinated employees from returning

• New government guidelines say companies may require their workers to get vaccinated.
• They also say employers may offer incentives for employees who voluntarily receive vaccinations.
• Employees with underlying health conditions or conflicting religious beliefs may be exceptions.

The federal government on Friday updated its guidance for employers, saying companies may require their workers to get vaccinated for COVID-19. Additionally, it said employers may offer incentives such as bonuses or paid time off for employees who voluntarily receive vaccinations, as long as they are not coercive.

In April, the Biden administration announced it would grant tax incentives to small businesses that offered employees paid time off to get vaccinated. Companies small and large have used incentives and flexible policies to increase employee vaccination rates.

The new guidelines from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission include protections for workers who may refuse the vaccine because of underlying medical conditions or conflicting religious beliefs, as defined by the Americans with Disabilities Act and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Employers who determine that an employee who cannot be vaccinated because of a disability are a risk to others are not allowed to bar them from the workplace unless there is no accommodation that would eliminate or reduce the risk so the employee doesn't pose a direct threat, the guidelines say. The same goes for employees who have religious objections to receiving the vaccine.

In neither case do employers have the right to automatically fire workers who cannot get the vaccine. First they must determine whether the employee has rights under local and national discrimination laws.

Experts have said most employers will probably request that their workers get vaccinated rather than forcefully compel them to.

Though polls have indicated that public confidence in the vaccines has increased, a survey from the Kaiser Family Foundation in December found that 27% of respondents said they "probably or definitely would not get a COVID-19 vaccine even if it were available for free and deemed safe by scientists." Forcing workers to get the shot or leave their jobs could backfire on employers.

There could also be legal risks for employers. If a required vaccination causes harm to a worker, it could spur a workers-compensation claim against the employer, Jay Rosenlieb, an employment-law attorney, told AARP in December.

"It's a treacherous area for employers," Rosenlieb said.