Although most organizations have yet to mandate vaccines, federal Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) laws do not prevent employers from requiring all employees physically entering the workplace to be vaccinated for COVID-19, subject to Title VII and Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) rules.
ADA professionals are inundated with accommodation requests as the nation resumes in-person operations. EEOC/OCR* suggests that if a person presents as or has a visible disability, bypass the need for medical documentation. HR suggests supervisors have discretion to provide interim work arrangements given these challenging circumstances.
*The Office of Civil Rights (OCR) manages the Department of Commerce’s Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) complaint process, with oversight from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) -- an independent Federal agency.