Oregon Law Restricts Healthcare Employers Who Want to Require COVID-19 Vaccination
By Paula A. Barran & Julie A. Preciado
Posted on December 31, 2020
A 1989 statute in Oregon, in fact, does just that – places restrictions on healthcare employers. Healthcare employers are required to provide preventive vaccinations for their employees, but at the same time are prohibited from requiring their employees to be vaccinated unless vaccination is “otherwise required by federal or state law, rule, or regulation.”
The statute defines healthcare workers broadly. “Worker” means a person who is: licensed or certified to provide healthcare under separate legislative provisions; an employee of a healthcare facility, a licensed healthcare provider, or a clinical laboratory; a firefighter; a law enforcement officer; a corrections officer or a parole and probation officer.
We have contacted advisors to Governor Brown to seek clarification and learn whether a regulatory change may be considered. When we know more, we will follow up with an updated E-Alert. In the meantime, employers of healthcare employees (and all employers, regardless of industry) need to be cautious if they are planning to issue mandatory vaccination policies.
The entire statute can be reviewed here.
For any questions relating to navigating COVID-19 in the workplace, contact Paula Barran or Julie Preciado at 503-228-0500, or at pbarran@barran.com or jpreciado@barran.com.
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Las Alertas electrónicas son escritas por abogados de Barran Liebman para sus clientes y amigos. Las Alertas no son proveídas como asesoramiento legal, sino solo como anuncios de leyes de empleo, leyes laborales y beneficios de empleo. Si esto ha sido remetido a usted y quisieras empezar a recibir las Alertas directamente, por favor mándanos un correo electrónico o llama a Traci Ray al 503-276-2115. Derechos de autor ©2021 por Barran Liebman LLP.