(Recorded Webinar) Part I: Navigating Medical and Religious Exemptions from a COVID-19 Vaccine Mandate

This course is closed to new enrollments.


This webinar is Part I of a two-part series. To purchase the series, click here.


Duration: 60 minutes
Recorded on: 9/27/2021

Given the reality of imposed COVID-19 vaccine mandates by federal, state and local governments, whether or not a health center itself has decided to mandate the vaccine, all health centers must be confident in navigating the legal requirements for allowing for medical and religious exemptions from the vaccine. 

Under federal law, some employees may be exempt from a health center’s requirement to be vaccinated pursuant to the reasonable accommodation provisions of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).  Under these provisions, there are two types of exemptions: religious exemptions for sincerely held religious beliefs, practices and observances (e.g., faith healing religious denominations that have traditions of declining vaccinations) and medical exemptions for certain disabilities (e.g., an allergy to one of the vaccine components or a medical condition).

In order to be in compliance with federal law, health centers must engage in an interactive process with employees to analyze whether the requests for exemption are reasonable and/or whether allowing such exemptions are creates an undue hardship on the operation of the health center’s business. Importantly, the EEOC has noted that, “[U]ltimately, if an employee cannot be accommodated, employers should determine if any other rights apply under the EEO laws or other federal, state, and local authorities before taking adverse employment action against an unvaccinated employee.” In addition to the ADA and Title VII related exemptions in federal law, some states may also have their exemption framework which can include medical and religious exemptions, as well as philosophical exemptions.

Significantly, there is concern that both the denial of religious exemptions and the granting of them could expose an employer to legal action.  This pandemic may be the first situation in which the federal government may take action against employers who grant wholesale exemptions to employees seeking “religious” exemptions in order to avoid compliance with the federal mandate.

Navigating the process for analyzing and applying these exemptions can be difficult and costly for health centers.  In this webinar series we will explore best practices for handling exemption requests from documenting the interactive process to the confidentiality requirements around the information that you receive from your employees. We will also explore potential legal liabilities for health centers when making decisions to grant or deny religious and medical exemptions from the vaccine.  Finally we will discuss considerations when applying testing requirements to those staff members who have been vaccinated.


Please note: This webinar series is offered at a discounted price of $198 for all Health Center Compliance Premium Plan Subscribers. For more information on our Premium Plan, click here or Contact Us.


 

Target Audience

  • Health Center Clinical Staff
  • Risk Managers
  • Compliance Officers
  • CEOs, COOs, CMOs
  • Clinical Staff
  • Human Resources Managers and Staff

Learning Objectives

After these webinars, you will be better able to:

  • Evaluate the legal framework of vaccine mandates
  • Understand how medical and religious exemptions work
  • Learn how to properly document the interactive process of evaluating medical and religious exemptions
  • Evaluate risk management considerations when granting or denying a medical or religious exemption
  • Identify strategies to limit employment-related risk for your health center providers when mandating COVID-19 vaccines
Course summary
Available credit: 
  • 1.00 Certificate of Attendance
Course opens: 
10/01/2021
Course expires: 
07/01/2023

MOLLY EVANS  

A Partner in the firm’s health law practice group, Molly advises health centers on the management of clinical, employment and workforce-related risks, with a particular focus on professional liability, Federal Tort Claims Act, and HIPAA matters. From her experience as both a private attorney and in-house counsel, Molly knows the importance of managing liability and risk issues in mission-driven organizations. [Full Bio]

DIANNE PLEDGIE

As Partner and Compliance Counsel with the firm’s health law practice group, Dianne advises health centers on implementing effective compliance programs and on addressing top compliance risk areas. Dianne counsels health centers and other organizations on developing compliance programs that include the OIG’s seven elements, respond to identified compliance risk areas, and reflect the organization’s culture.  Dianne also advises health centers and other organizations on patient privacy and confidentiality, including the HIPAA Privacy Rule and 42 CFR Part 2.  She has experience responding to privacy and security incidents, including determining whether there has been a breach, notifying patients and the government, and creating corrective action plans. [Full Bio]

BEN HAHN (Hahn Law, LLC)

Ben is the principal of Hahn Law, LLC, a Washington, DC management employment law firm.  Ben has practiced law for over 40 years, with a focus on employment, labor, education, and services-related legal issues.  He has been lead trial counsel in contested matters ranging from disability discrimination to independent contractor misclassification to whistleblower disputes.  He has been Washington, DC Super Lawyer in employment every year since 2013 and is included in Marquis Who’s Who in American lawyers for 2021.  Ben’s clients include health care, private education, child development, and trade association organizations, as well as many private for-profit enterprises. [Full Bio]

Certificates of Attendance: We verify attendance upon completion of a webinar (live or recorded version) and will only issue certificates in the name of the account holder enrolled in the course. If you need to document attendance for someone other than the account holder, we provide blank Certificates of Attendance for a supervisor to sign and certify that a different individual viewed the course. 

Group Attendance: Due to the online nature of webinars, we cannot verify participation by more than one person. For groups, we provide an attendance record form and blank Certificates of Attendance to record attendance at a group viewing session and document each individual's participation. We recommend that a supervisor or colleague sign the certificate to certify attendance. 

Read more about maintaining an attendance record in our FAQs.

Available Credit

  • 1.00 Certificate of Attendance
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This course is closed to new enrollments.


This webinar is Part I of a two-part series. To purchase the series, click here.


ACCESS PERIOD

Recorded webinars are available for 180 days after the date of purchase or date of the webinar. Once posted to your account, you can view this webinar anytime on-demand during the access period identified in your purchase confirmation. For additional information on viewing and accessing webinars, view our full terms and conditions here.

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CANCELLATION POLICY

No refunds will be provided for recorded webinars. FTLF can transfer a registration to someone else within your organization or, provided you have not already viewed the webinar, transfer the registration to another on-demand program. Where the registration fee for the new webinar is higher, you must also pay the difference between the original course and the new course registration fee at the time of transfer. Administrative fees may also apply. If your organization purchased a webinar under the account of a staff member who no longer works for your organization, please Contact Us. View our full policy on refunds and cancellations here.

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