The broad question did not specify whether the mandate would apply to all employees or just ones who needed to work in close proximity to customers and colleagues.
The debate come as health authorities seek to reassure the public about the safety of vaccines and as Corporate America takes a more vocal stance on crucial issues including climate change.
“There was a surprising amount of openness to the idea of mandates for vaccines,” said Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, founder of the Yale Chief Executive Leadership Institute.
‘Too soon to say’
Parker added that some nations may require vaccines before airlines can even enter the country.
“Down the road, we can make a decision on whether to mandate or not,” Khalaf said during the Yale event. “For now, it’s too soon to say we should mandate a vaccine.”
Others think that vaccine mandates go a step too far.
Are vaccine mandates legal?
Legal experts say companies can require their employees to get vaccinated. Some jobs already have such requirements. For example, hospitals may require workers to get flu or hepatitis B vaccines.
“Employers have the right to set workplace health and safety conditions,” said Dorit Reiss, a law professor at the University of California, Hastings.
However, there are limits to such mandates. For instance, Reiss said that companies may need to grant exemptions or accommodations to employees on medical or religious grounds.
Another question is whether vaccines can be required if they haven’t been fully blessed by regulators yet.
“There is some legal uncertainty whether you can mandate a vaccine under emergency use authorization,” said Reiss. “I suspect some employers will go ahead and mandate. It will be challenged and the courts could go either way.”
Who would the mandate apply to?
Sonnenfeld said vaccine mandates can help companies promote a culture of safety.
“If a safe work environment is part of their culture and brand, more power to them,” he said.
“I don’t think we’ve made a decision on that,” Gibbs said of a vaccine mandate. “It’s something we’ll look at.”
Howard Forman, founder of Yale’s MD/MBA program, said that it’s possible the next few months will reveal there are certain populations that vaccines may not be suitable for.
“You might have to make exclusions for those groups,” he said.
Still, Forman said it makes sense for some companies to mandate vaccines after the FDA fully approves them.
“If you want your people in the office, on factory floors or facing customers, you should want them to be as safe as possible,” Forman said during an interview. “Not every employee, but ones that fit categories where you can’t be working from home all the time.”
Source : CNN