# Employers have right to mandate COVID vaccine in Tennessee; legislator vows to keep that from happening



## Becky1951 (Dec 12, 2020)

Employers have right to mandate COVID vaccine in Tennessee; legislator vows to keep that from happening.

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (WMC) - In just a matter of days, Mid-Southerners could soon receive the COVID-19 vaccine with priority first given to frontline workers. However, could your employer require you to take the vaccine?

The short answer is yes,” Tennessee Employment attorney Alan Crone said.

Crone says Tennessee, like most states, is a right to work state, giving private employers the right to require just about anything, as long as it’s not illegal with one big exception.

Krone said, “There is an Americans with disabilities act which factors into this, so if someone is allergic to the vaccine or otherwise has some medical condition that might impair the major life activity of taking the vaccine, then the employer needs to have an interactive process with that employee to provide a reasonable accommodation.”

According to an Associated Press survey, about a quarter of U.S. adults aren’t sure if they want the vaccine, and one Tennessee legislator wants to pass a law to make sure you don’t have to until you’re ready.

“You know we don’t own much in this world, but one thing we do own or should have possession of and decision-making power over is our own body,” Tennessee State Representative Antonio Parkinson said.

Parkinson says he plans to draft legislation to explicitly state employers can not mandate the COVID-19 vaccine.

Experts say about 70 percent of the population will need to accept the vaccine in order to significantly slow down the spread of the virus.

https://www.wmcactionnews5.com/2020...ennessee-legislator-vows-keep-that-happening/


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## Butterfly (Dec 13, 2020)

Pretty sure employers in most, if not all, states can require vaccinations.  Many already do, especially for health care workers, child carers, etc.  This is nothing new.


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## squirrelwhisperer (Dec 13, 2020)

Thank God, I'm retired.


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## Becky1951 (Dec 13, 2020)

Butterfly said:


> Pretty sure employers in most, if not all, states can require vaccinations.  Many already do, especially for health care workers, child carers, etc.  This is nothing new.


No it's nothing new, in a few other threads the question came up if employers could demand employees to get the Covid vaccine.


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## CarolfromTX (Dec 13, 2020)

I don’t see a problem here. I needed to prove that my daughter was vaccinated before she enrolled in school. So why not this? Don’t understand anti-vaxxers.


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## MarciKS (Dec 13, 2020)

I read just the opposite the other day but I don't have the link now. They said they can't make it mandatory but they can make it difficult to say no. For those of us with allergies I think that's unfair to expect us to give up our job if we *can't* take the vaccine.


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## Aunt Marg (Dec 13, 2020)

Three cheers for, Antonio Parkinson!!!

This world needs more leadership like him!


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## rgp (Dec 13, 2020)

Aunt Marg said:


> Three cheers for, Antonio Parkinson!!!
> 
> This world needs more leadership like him!




 Here, here !


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## rgp (Dec 13, 2020)

squirrelwhisperer said:


> Thank God, I'm retired.




 Me too !


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## Sunny (Dec 13, 2020)

Aunt Marg said:


> Three cheers for, Antonio Parkinson!!!
> 
> This world needs more leadership like him!



Yup, let's hear it for more Covid! More sick people!  More deaths!  More years of staying home and living like a hermit!  More years of a totally paralyzed economy!  Three cheers, rah rah rah.


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## Aunt Marg (Dec 13, 2020)

Sunny said:


> Yup, let's hear it for more Covid! More sick people!  More deaths!  More years of staying home and living like a hermit!  More years of a totally paralyzed economy!  Three cheers, rah rah rah.


To heck with Covid.

_No one_, and I do mean _no one_, should have the authority to dictate to anyone in relation to forcing them to take a medication or drug outside of their comfort zone, _no one_.

Don't tell me, Sunny, that my stance on this surprises you, because having seen all of the uproar in the USofA, as to folks making a big stink over being made to wear masks, I would venture to say I'd have a whirlwind of support for my words and stance on the matter.


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## Pepper (Dec 13, 2020)

Aunt Marg said:


> _No one_, and I do mean _no one_, should have the authority to dictate to anyone in relation to forcing them to take a medication or drug outside of their comfort zone, _no one_.


An employee is not forced to take anything.  If they don't like it they can leave the job.   Private employers drug tested before anyone else too.   I'm not saying I agree, I'm telling it like it is.


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## Aunt Marg (Dec 13, 2020)

Pepper said:


> An employee is not forced to take anything.  If they don't like it they can leave the job.   Private employers drug tested before anyone else too.   I'm not saying I agree, I'm telling it like it is.


It should never come down to an employee, particularly a senior, long-time employee, having to quit his or her job over being violated by someone else's rules, and shame on the system for allowing such.

Here in Canada there are no provisions for mandatory vaccinations, not that either dear husband and I would entertain such.


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## Sunny (Dec 13, 2020)

Aunt Marg said:


> To heck with Covid.
> 
> _No one_, and I do mean _no one_, should have the authority to dictate to anyone in relation to forcing them to take a medication or drug outside of their comfort zone, _no one_.
> 
> Don't tell me, Sunny, that my stance on this surprises you, because having seen all of the uproar in the USofA, as to folks making a big stink over being made to wear masks, I would venture to say I'd have a whirlwind of support for my words and stance on the matter.



To heck with Covid?  What exactly does that mean?  The vaccine (assuming it works) prevents people from getting Covid. This is not about anything else.

Schools and businesses in this country have long been in the practice of requiring certain vaccinations for entry into the school or job. Nothing new about that.  The only difference is that this disease has become politicized in a way that no other life-threatening scourge has.

About the "whirlwind of support," not really, Marg. The media delight in stirring things up and creating more of a conflict than there is. The relatively small group of idiots who deliberately are making a "statement" by convening without masks are closing their eyes to reality, and exposing themselves and everybody else, to a horrifying disease, and maybe death.  A spike in the disease very often follows these mass events without masks. The death figures keep rising daily. There is no disputing this, it's just simply the truth. Wearing a mask protects everybody, not just the mask wearer.

The election didn't bear out what this cohort keeps shouting about; even many of their original supporters have changed their minds. Even in a free society, our "freedom" has limits. We cannot shout "Fire!" in a crowded theatre. We cannot light a bonfire on the balcony of our hi-rise building, or set off fireworks inside the apartment. We can't do chemical experiments that release poison gas into the neighborhood. Those are some of the limitations on our freedom, for the common good.

Requiring a vaccination against a plague that has vitually brought the world to a standstill is another limitation. We should be cheering for those trying to implement it, instead of childishly sticking our chin out and saying, "Nyah, nyah, I'm not gonna get vaccinated, and you've gotta let me have a job, nothing you can do about it!"


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## Aunt Marg (Dec 13, 2020)

Sunny said:


> *To heck with Covid?  What exactly does that mean?*  The vaccine (assuming it works) prevents people from getting Covid. This is not about anything else.
> 
> Schools and businesses in this country have long been in the practice of requiring certain vaccinations for entry into the school or job. Nothing new about that.  The only difference is that this disease has become politicized in a way that no other life-threatening scourge has.
> 
> ...


Exactly how it reads, Sunny, "_to heck with Covid_".

You have your beliefs, and I have mine, and it's apparent a high percentage of the populous is widely against mandatory vaccinations, and in speaking for myself, I'll be in charge of my own body, not some governing party, or some two-bit, self-serving employer, or some haughty lawmaker.

My advice to any/all... careful what you allow in the name of Covid, and don't be afraid to stand up for what YOU believe is right, not what someone else thinks is right.


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## Sunny (Dec 13, 2020)

Marg,  listen carefully. No one is forcing anyone to have "mandatory" vaccinations!

If a vaccination is required for the health and safety of co-workers, any employer has the right to refuse to hire a person who will not abide by the rules.  No one can "force" them to hire anyone either.

Talking about fictitious forcing, mandatory vaccinations, lies by scientists and "quashing the truth" as you claimed in another thread, sound paranoid to me.

You don't want the vaccination when it finally arrives? Fine; don't get it. It's as simple as that.


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## Butterfly (Dec 14, 2020)

MarciKS said:


> I read just the opposite the other day but I don't have the link now. They said they can't make it mandatory but they can make it difficult to say no. For those of us with allergies I think that's unfair to expect us to give up our job if we *can't* take the vaccine.



Here, they can and do require vaccinations for certain jobs as a condition of employment.  If you refuse a vaccine, they can transfer you to another type job within the organization (called accommodation), or if they can't do that, they can let you go.  

It really isn't any different than any other requirement to be qualified for a certain job.   Like pilots and others having to pass a medical exam, for instance, or requiring that you be able to life a certain number of pounds, etc.


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## MarciKS (Dec 14, 2020)

Butterfly said:


> Here, they can and do require vaccinations for certain jobs as a condition of employment.  If you refuse a vaccine, they can transfer you to another type job within the organization (called accommodation), or if they can't do that, they can let you go.
> 
> It really isn't any different than any other requirement to be qualified for a certain job.   Like pilots and others having to pass a medical exam, for instance, or requiring that you be able to life a certain number of pounds, etc.


Yes but here we're not forced to take something if we're allergic. And there's no way they can make us take something that could kill us. I don't see KS doing that because what would they do with all the unemployed people who couldn't take it? That doesn't make sense to me.


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## Butterfly (Dec 14, 2020)

They can't force you to take it, true; but I bet they can say that you can't do whatever job without having the vaccine, particularly jobs with close patient contact like nursing, elderly caretaking, etc., like they already do with the flu vaccine.


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## Don M. (Dec 14, 2020)

Employers have an obligation to provide a safe working environment for their employees.  Schools have an obligation to provide a safe environment for our young students.  The "rules" designed to protect the majority should take precedence over individual "rights".  

If an individual thinks that such restrictions violate their "rights", they can stay home, and apply for food stamps.


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## squirrelwhisperer (Dec 26, 2020)

Seems like " my body, my choice" doesn't mean anything except for killing babies.


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## Pepper (Dec 26, 2020)

squirrelwhisperer said:


> Seems like " my body, my choice" doesn't mean anything except for killing babies.


Seems like you've got an ax to grind and a misunderstanding of the terminology, suiting yourself for your own needs.  Would it be wrong to tell you to shut the #### up?  Please do so before you start a Christmas War.  I've had it with you pontificators.


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## squirrelwhisperer (Dec 26, 2020)

Pepper said:


> Seems like you've got an ax to grind and a misunderstanding of the terminology, suiting yourself for your own needs.  Would it be wrong to tell you to shut the #### up?  Please do so before you start a Christmas War.  I've had it with you pontificators.


 I have no axe to grind, but  I must have hit a nerve, huh!  Sometimes the truth hurts, sorry.


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## Pepper (Dec 26, 2020)

squirrelwhisperer said:


> I have no axe to grind, but  I must have hit a nerve, huh!  Sometimes the truth hurts, sorry.


The truth is you're not clever like you think you are.  Hopefully you won't be slipping in your version of politics again.


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## HoneyNut (Dec 26, 2020)

I just wish employers couldn't tell us what clothes we have to wear.


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## oldman (Dec 26, 2020)

I was told that I have antibodies now, but could still be reinfected. They don’t have enough information to say with 100% certainty if that’s true or not, but they feel fairly confident that I have at least 5-7 months of protection against a reinfection.

I remember shortly after the release of the first vaccine (Pfizer) that the Epidemiologists were saying that once they got 70% of the population vaccinated, we would probably be able to stop wearing masks. On Thursday, I was listening to the news on ABC and the Specialist said they would like to have at least 85% vaccinated before saying we could stop wearing masks. Next week, maybe the new number will be 90%.

Why wouldn’t anyone not want to get a vaccine that may save their life? I did like the suggestion that stated a person being vaccinated should be in an environment where breathing equipment is available in case the person would have an adverse reaction.


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## win231 (Dec 26, 2020)

If such a ridiculous mandate passes, I hope the courts become bogged down with lawsuits.  If I was still working, I'd be at the front of the line.


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## Pepper (Dec 26, 2020)

win231 said:


> If such a ridiculous mandate passes, I hope the courts become bogged down with lawsuits.  If I was still working, I'd be at the front of the line.


It already has happened, starting decades ago.  For example, a cigarette smoker who never smokes at or near the job is told to either give up smoking or face termination.  Private enterprise causes more loss of freedoms than government.


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## Butterfly (Dec 27, 2020)

Pepper said:


> It already has happened, starting decades ago.  For example, a cigarette smoker who never smokes at or near the job is told to either give up smoking or face termination.  Private enterprise causes more loss of freedoms than government.


The smoking thing is usually related to the company's health insurance provided to its employees.  The insurance carrier can say it won't cover a group which contains smokers, or that it will hike up the premiums if there are smokers at the company.


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## Pepper (Dec 27, 2020)

Butterfly said:


> The smoking thing is usually related to the company's health insurance provided to its employees.  The insurance carrier can say it won't cover a group which contains smokers, or that it will hike up the premiums if there are smokers at the company.


Yes, of course, they have a reason.  There is always a reason, or at least a reason they will give.  There are other examples of private companies infringements on employee personal rights, and of course there is always a reason.  The reason doesn't always negate the facts, that a worker's rights to a private life is invaded.


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## Liberty (Dec 27, 2020)

Wondering why get the second vaccine shot..if we're even able to get the first one, of course:

https://www.wbur.org/commonhealth/2020/12/18/coronavirus-vaccine-single-dose-debate


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## Remy (Dec 27, 2020)

Vaccine clinic at my work tomorrow. I guess it's not mandated but at this point I plan to get it. I'm going in for my weekly covid test anyway. We actually have to get tested twice a week now due to increased positivity rate in the county. Oh joy. I'll see how I feel afterward if I do get it and don't change my mind at the last minute.


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