NYC MAYOR ISSUES MANDATE REQUIRING ALL IN-PERSON PRIVATE SECTOR EMPLOYEES BE VACCINATED AGAINST COVID-19
January 10, 2022
On December 15, 2021, New York City Mayor Bill De Blasio released an Executive Order announcing the “Key to NYC” program. The program includes a vaccine mandate for all private sector companies, which requires that certain private sector employees show proof of being fully vaccinated against COVID-19. The Executive Order establishing the mandate can be found here.
Specifically, the mandate will apply to private sector companies with at least two employees who work in person and will require that these employees be fully vaccinated against COVID-19, and show proof that they are fully vaccinated as well as identification that bears the same “identifying information” as the proof of vaccination that they provide. The mandate does not apply to people who work alone or from home and therefore do not have in-person contact with co-workers or others in the course of business, people who enter a workplace briefly for limited purposes, and non-NYC resident performing artists, college or professional athletes and anyone who accompanies them. The mandate requires that by December 27, 2021, employers verify and keep a record of each employee’s proof of vaccination as well as records of reasonable accommodations for employees who are granted accommodations. In addition to this, employers will have to complete the certificate available here by December 27, affirming that they comply with the new requirements and post it in a public place. Employers will also be required to post an official sign in an obvious spot to notify patrons of the vaccine requirement and inform them that employees and patrons are required to be vaccinated.
According to the mandate, employees may be allowed exemptions under limited circumstances such as due to reasonable accommodations for religious and medical reasons and may keep working without penalty after the mandate goes into effect on December 27 while their application for an accommodation is under review, but such employees must apply for a reasonable accommodation by December 27 to do so.
In terms of penalties for noncompliance, the mandate states that:
“Any person or entity who is determined to have violated the requirements of the [mandate] shall be subject to a fine, penalty and forfeiture of not less than $1,000. If the person or entity is determined to have committed a subsequent violation of this section within twelve months of the initial violation for which a penalty was assessed, such person or entity shall be subject to a fine, penalty and forfeiture of not less than $2,000. For every violation thereafter, such person or entity shall be subject to a fine, penalty and forfeiture of not less than $5,000 if the person or entity committed the violation within twelve months of the violation for which the second penalty was assessed.”
The vaccination requirement for private sector companies officially goes into effect on December 27, 2021, but as noted above, affected employers will have to complete certain requirements such as the affirmation of compliance with workplace vaccination requirements beforehand.
If you have any questions, please contact Evelyn Sahr (esahr@eckertseamans.com 202-659-6622) or Drew Derco (dderco@eckertseamans.com 202-659-6665).
Share This Post
Authors
