Employees question legal standing of company vaccine mandates – WLWT Cincinnati

As more employers require vaccines, some attorneys are already hearing from employees wanting to know about how they could challenge the mandates.“We’ve definitely gotten calls,” said attorney George Ruel.Ruel handles workplace disputes as a partner at Freaking, Myers and Ruel.Ruel said the best odds for an employee to be exempt from the mandate are if they have a medical or religious reason, but those might not be the only exceptions.“A lot of this is going to be on a case by case basis,” Ruel said.Every hospital system locally released details of their vaccine mandate plans in a joint meeting on Thursday.Hospital leaders said they are anticipating the possibility of legal challenges.“I think at this stage, we feel very secure that we’re on safe legal grounds,” said St. Elizabeth executive vice president Dr. Robert Prichard.“There are health care organizations that have already gone down this path. I feel very, very confident that what we’re doing is the right thing to do and now is the right time to do it,” said The Christ Hospital CEO Debbie Hayes.Ruel said he doesn’t believe vaccine mandates will be practical for every employer.“Employers are having a hard time finding qualified employees. So, I don’t expect employers in mass at this point to just demand all of their employees get vaccinated,” Ruel said.

As more employers require vaccines, some attorneys are already hearing from employees wanting to know about how they could challenge the mandates.

“We’ve definitely gotten calls,” said attorney George Ruel.

Ruel handles workplace disputes as a partner at Freaking, Myers and Ruel.

Ruel said the best odds for an employee to be exempt from the mandate are if they have a medical or religious reason, but those might not be the only exceptions.

“A lot of this is going to be on a case by case basis,” Ruel said.

Every hospital system locally released details of their vaccine mandate plans in a joint meeting on Thursday.

Hospital leaders said they are anticipating the possibility of legal challenges.

“I think at this stage, we feel very secure that we’re on safe legal grounds,” said St. Elizabeth executive vice president Dr. Robert Prichard.

“There are health care organizations that have already gone down this path. I feel very, very confident that what we’re doing is the right thing to do and now is the right time to do it,” said The Christ Hospital CEO Debbie Hayes.

Ruel said he doesn’t believe vaccine mandates will be practical for every employer.

“Employers are having a hard time finding qualified employees. So, I don’t expect employers in mass at this point to just demand all of their employees get vaccinated,” Ruel said.