b'FOGHORN FOCUSCould Vaccines Be the Shot in the Arm Vessel Operators Need Now?BY KAREN RAINBOLT // FOGHORN MANAGING EDITORP assengervesseloperatorsaregettingbacktowork,albeitAmericans with Disabilities Act, or ADA.inreducedcapacitiesinmanyareas.Still,withconsumer confidence on the rise and the nearly universal desire to get outHowever, when the nations two largest public university systems, the of the house after more than a year of isolation, tickets for boat ridesUniversity of California and the California State University system, arefinallyselling.However, some vessel operators have facedannounced in April that it would require all faculty, staff, students backlash from staff and crew aboutto be vaccinated in time for the start of getting a COVID-19 vaccine. Rather than mandatefall 2021 academic year, there was a but. Accordingtothetwosystems,which Isthisaproblem?Well,itstheir employees get thecollectively enroll and employ more than complicated.one million students and employees, the vaccine, many companiesvaccinerequirementiscontingentupon AsPVAGeneralCounselStevenhave the choice to offerthe U.S. Food and Drug Administrations Bers reported earlier this year, there(FDA)fullapprovalofoneormore arelegalcaveatsthatpeoplecanincentives to workers tovaccines and reliable supply access.claim to preclude them from havingencourage them to do so to receive the coronavirus (or any)Asofthiswriting,thethreeCOVID vaccine. These are medical/disabilityinstead. vaccines in use in the U.S. have been given issues and religious beliefs, as statedthe green light by the FDA for Emergency intheAmericanwithDisabilitiesUse Authorization. The FDA is currently Act. Otherwise, according to several sources, employers can mandategoing through the process to approve the Pfizer vaccine, and the workers to be vaccinated.Modern vaccine is expected to follow soon after. Last month, the San Diego Tribune published an article to answer theINCENTIVES VERSUS MANDATESquestion, can my employer force me to get a vaccine? The answerRather than mandate their employees get the vaccine, many companies was a mostly yes, but again, there are caveats.have the choice to offer incentives to workers to encourage them to do so instead. Doing so takes away the enforcement component According the Tribune, Historically, certain employers have beenfrom human resources and supervisors by demanding employees to able to require vaccinations, as long as the employer can show thatprove theyve been vaccinated. such a mandate is job-related and consistent with business necessity or justified by a direct threat to the workforce, according to theChelseaSmith, a labor and employment attorney at the national law FOGHORN FOCUS: HUMAN RESOURCES 12 FOGHORN'