While the battle over the legality of COVID-19 vaccine mandates continues to wage on in the courts, another legal aspect of the situation is starting to appear. What if employees have a bad reaction from the vaccine and must take time off work?
Sidney L. Gold of The Gold Law Firm P.C. spoke with FOX43 Finds Out and gave his thoughts on the situation. The article highlighted a federal subcontractor who was mandated to get the vaccine to keep her job. She decided to get the shot, but she had a bad reaction, which forced her to take a sick day. She used her own accrued time, opposed to her employer giving her time off to recover from something they forced.
Sidney told the news outlet that the current state of affairs is a “big administrative bureaucratic disaster.” He added that there is a lot of confusion right now. When that happens more often than not, it is the employee who suffers, he explained.
Since the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has yet to release any guidance on the matter, employees are forced to use their own sick and vacation time to recover from mandatory vaccination reactions.
To minimize the impact this could have, employees should communicate with their manager and Human Resources (HR) department first in writing if they are mandated to get vaccinated. Employees should find out what to expect if they get sick due to the shot and need to take sick time.
Employees who are being treated unfairly because of a negative reaction to the COVID-19 vaccination should seek legal advice from the Philadelphia employment lawyers at The Gold Law Firm P.C. as soon as possible. Call 215-569-1999 or fill out an online form for a free consultation. Located in Philadelphia and Pennsauken, New Jersey, the firm serves clients throughout Wilkes-Barre, Scranton, Northeast Philadelphia, Bucks County, Chester County, Delaware County, and Montgomery County.
