Covid-19 restrictions lifted in the State of Florida –
Helpful Tips for Business Owners:
Face Masks and Social Distancing:
- Business owners can still require their employees and their customers to continue wearing face masks and follow social distancing procedures.
- Reasonable accommodations must be provided to employees who cannot wear a mask due to underlying health conditions unless such accommodation would impose an undue hardship on the employer’s business operation.
Vaccines:
- Business owners are not allowed to request vaccine documentation, a.k.a “vaccine passports”, from patrons or customers to gain entry or receive services from their business.
- The vaccine passport prohibition does not apply to a business's employees. Employers are still allowed to ask employees whether they have been vaccinated and request proof of vaccination.
- Further questions as to the reasons why an employee is or is not vaccinated may elicit medical information about disabilities, constituting a disability-related inquiry under the American Disabilities Act (ADA). To avoid triggering ADA implications, employers can simply warn their employees that they do not have to disclose any other medical information in response to the question about being vaccinated; a yes or no response will suffice.
- If an employee’s refusal to obtain the vaccine is due to a disability, underlying medical condition, or sincerely held religious belief, and the employer determines that the unvaccinated employee poses a direct threat to the workplace, the employer must try to offer reasonable accommodation for such employee. Failure to do so can implicate employment discrimination liability if the unvaccinated employee is treated differently than the vaccinated employees.
