EMPLOYEES

Employment Opportunities Commission published a guide that suggests employers can ask if an employee has been vaccinated. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said it becomes a matter of state law whether to address if employers can mandate an employee get vaccinated.

Lamont said last week that he believes employers requiring people get vaccinated “makes a certain amount of sense,” referencing how some health care companies require people to get flu vaccines.

“But again, I’m not going to mandate that. I think every business will decide for themselves,” Lamont said.

The legislature has not brought up requiring COVID- 19 vaccines, but of the dozen or so bills addressing inoculations, there’s one that would prevent employers from taking adverse actions against em

ployees who refuse to get the shot.

Rep. Anne Dauphinais, R- Killingly, who proposed the bill, said she believes asking about vaccine status is another form of discrimination.

“There’s so many rules and regulations with regard to discrimination and being discriminated against,” Dauphinais said.

“This is one of those additional things that would discriminate against a group of people ... that would chose not to participate in big pharma and the vaccine,” she added.

The EEOC and CDC included language in the guidance acknowledging exemptions for medical and religious reasons. JSS and CRT have said employees can seek those exemptions from the vaccine requirement.

“At this point, we are more than a third fully vaccinated and we’ve had four people that have requested exemption,” CRT’s Black said. “We do allow for people to request exemptions.”