Mandates—Facts and Fiction
Barbara and I are firm believers that policies exist to provide management guidance. Good policies are flexible to meet certain needs—often responding to changes internally or externally.
Generally, policies are not absolute mandates—except when they have to be.
Consider for example wearing steel-toed shoes in certain manufacturing environments or hard hats at construction sites. Would you send your workers, and in some cases visitors, into these situations without the proper safety precautions?
On July 29, President Biden announced the requirement that all federal employees and on-site contractors be vaccinated against the coronavirus or be required to wear masks and undergo repeated testing.
The announcement drew immediate pushback. The Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association said requiring vaccines is an infringement on civil rights. There was nothing on their website or other news articles where they explained which civil rights were being infringed.
Fact: The civil rights of workers are covered by a number of laws at the federal, state and local level. Two relevant federal laws are Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 covering race, color, religion, sex and national origin, and the Americans with Disabilities Act, covering disability status.
Fact: The EEOC, the agency responsible for enforcement of these laws issued updated COVID-19 technical assistance on May 28. It said that federal EEO laws do not prevent an employer from requiring all employees physically entering the workplace to be vaccinated for COVID-19, provided employers comply with the reasonable accommodation provisions of the ADA, Title VII, and other EEO considerations.
When I worked for a federal government contractor, we had to implement a drug-testing policy in accordance with The Drug-Free Workplace Act’s requirements. Did we get pushback about requiring applicants to be drug tested? Sure, but, if we wanted to stay in this segment of the business, we had to comply. Applicants had a choice—if they wanted to work for us, comply with this condition of employment. Other segments of the economy implemented various drug-testing programs for safety reasons. Speaking of safety:
Fact: OSHA’s General Duty clause requires employers to provide a workplace free from recognized hazards that can cause death or serious physical harm. Further, employees have the right under OSHA to demand safety and health on the job.
President Biden acknowledged the frustration that the vaccinated population is feeling, saying that we “just have to finish the job—with science, with facts and with the truth.”
Facts and truths: Don’t successful organizations who value integrity base decisions on facts and truths?
Fact: The science behind the vaccines had been under development for decades.
These are extraordinary times calling for extraordinary measures. Other federal unions are pushing back saying that the vaccination requirement has to be negotiated as part of the collective bargaining agreement. We support the integrity of processes, but:
Fact: Vaccinations are our best defense against managing this pandemic, making workplaces safe, and saving lives.
Is a lengthy negotiating process more important than the lives of union members and their families? Sound decisions are based on reliable data and facts. Successful organizations leave emotion out of the decision-making process and factor sound judgment into it.