The Covid-19 vaccine mandate is solving some thorny issues for chief human resources officers—but it’s creating new problems that are tougher to solve.
The Covid-19 vaccine mandate is solving some thorny issues for chief human resources officers — but it’s creating new problems that are tougher to solve. The Biden administration set a deadline of Jan.4 for private businesses with over 100 employees to require workers to get vaccinated, or alternatively, take a weekly Covid-19 test and regularly wear a mask. A court ruling last week hit the pause button on the mandate. On Friday night, the appeals court rejected the Justice Department’s request to lift the freeze and raised serious questions about the potential impact on workforces and the constitutionality of the mandate. This vaccine mandate start and stop has left many CHROs feeling frustrated. Marcus Bryant, chief people officer at FareStart, said before the vaccine mandate was announced, the anticipation of when it would be rolled out was unsettling. «At times, [a vaccine mandate] seemed like it was looming or impending. Like this thing was coming and nobody knows when it’s going to happen,» Bryant said. Having the vaccine mandate announced sooner would have gone a long way in helping him clarify things for his workforce, he said. Vaccine mandates create new problems But it’s not all smooth sailing from here. Among the difficulties that companies are anticipating because of the vaccine is potentially higher turnover among employees. «We’ve been very fortunate and just about 90% of our company is vaccinated at this time,» said Bryant, whose organization provides skills training and provides meals as part of a mission focused on poverty and homelessness. «But we also know that some of our sister companies may not be as fortunate. If all of their people decline, that’s tons of intellectual knowledge walking out the door.
