Employer-Required COVID-19 Testing May Be An Alternative to the Vaccine

As employers consider whether the COVID-19 vaccination should be mandatory for employees, issues arise regarding what to do when employees have legally-protected reasons for declining the vaccine. Employers may require employees to be tested for COVID-19.Such tests must be accurate, reliable and must be administered in a manner that is nondiscriminatory and consistently applied across the employees who are required to be tested. Employers must also remember that permitted COVID-testing does not include testing for the antibody (which is different from a viral test).