(Washington, D.C., Thursday, November 4, 2021) – Most private sector employees are “at will,” meaning their employment can be terminated at any time, for any reason, no reason, even a factually mistaken reason, as long as the real reason is not EEO discrimination or potentially whistleblower retaliation. Even federal government employees, most of whom have a constitutionally-protected property interest in their continued federal employment, which cannot be taken away without due process, can be fired for failure to follow lawful directives by their employers. Given that, all employees in the USA need to realize that they can be fired for failing to comply with their employers’ COVID-19 vaccine mandates. Attorney John P. Mahoney believes that all employees, including federal employees, should do the right thing for the country and protect their own job security, by getting fully COVID vaccinated immediately.

Here is some important information regarding COVID-19 mandates:

• COVID-19 vaccine mandates have so far survived legal challenges in most cases, for the reasons stated above;
• Whether state and local laws can prohibit vaccine mandates is still uncertain;
• Employers are finding carrot-and-stick approaches effective for getting employees vaccinated; and
• Employee absences due to COVID-19 related issues have raised legal issues for employers.

Companies, including health care settings, have a legal obligation to keep their workers and customers/patients safe and, thus, can generally require vaccines in the context of setting and enforcing terms and conditions of employment. However, some employers may have to provide reasonable accommodations to those with health or religious reasons for not being vaccinated.  However, accommodations that jeopardize the health and safety of the employee or others in the workplace may be deemed an undue burden on the employers’ operations, which may thus legally be denied.

John P. Mahoney, Esq., Attorneys at Law, is a top-rated and award-winning Washington, D.C.-based federal employee lawyer, former federal government agency Vice Chairman, executive, and administrative judge, devoting his entire nearly 30-year legal practice to representing federal employees, unions, employee associations, contractors, and agencies in federal employment law cases. He has garnered the top rating of AV Preeminent® from Martindale-Hubbell® due to his recognized ethics and legal talent, and he has been named in The Wall Street Journal as a “Top Rated Labor & Employment Lawyer.”