In the total rewards space, employers are already busy preparing for open enrollment, navigating compliance updates and strategizing their 2024 pay increase plans.
Now comes another item on the to-do list: encouraging employees to get vaccinated.
Flu shots, COVID-19 boosters and even the new respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine are all on the agenda. But this year presents a few unique challenges, including the fact that some employees are reluctant about receiving more vaccines after the mandates that were common in the thick of the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, employers are proceeding with a little more caution.
It's Vaccine Season. So How Are Employers Approaching It?
SHRM | Oct 2023
National Influenza Vaccination Week 2024
December 2-6, 2024 is National Influenza Vaccination Week
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention | 2024
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Operational leaders may need to create a contingency plan in the event of widespread or excessive absenteeism to ensure that they are able to meet such challenges; this could include cross-training employees, creating a relationship with a temporary staffing agency in case temporary staff may be needed, among other action items.
Tackle Flu Season with Confidence
Robinson Cole | Oct 2023
One of the best ways to discourage presenteeism is to have a good sick day policy. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 77% of the private sector workforce have paid sick time. There is no federal law requiring employers to pay employees for sick days, other than for federal contractors. (The federal Family and Medical Leave Act, which applies to companies with 50 or more employees, only addresses unpaid leave time.)
What Employers Should Know About COVID-19, Flu, and RSV
Big Ideas for Small Businesses®| Oct 2023
The practice of hosting workplace flu clinics, a convenient strategy for curbing the spread of influenza, has rebounded to pre-pandemic levels or even higher, according to several providers.
Employers Relaunch Flu Shot Clinics
SHRM | Sep 2022
Any employer considering mandates must gauge the potential risk of losing (or disrupting) employees weighed against the benefits of requiring flu vaccinations, especially where flu shots were not previously required.
Should the Severe Start to Flu Season Lead Your Workplace to Require Flu Shots?
Fisher Phillips | Nov 2022
SHRM Related Resources
Memo: Coronavirus and Flu Prevention
Toolkit: Managing Through Flu and Other Epidemics in the Workplace
How-to-Guide: How to Handle Communicable Diseases in the Workplace
HRQA: Can an employee get FMLA leave for the flu?
Article: The Flu: Coordinate Compliance Among FMLA, ADA, Paid Leave Laws
Policy: Communicable Diseases in the Workplace
Additional Employer Resources
Flu Resources for Business
Make It Your Business To Fight The Flu
Find Flu Vaccines
Similarities and Differences between Flu and COVID-19
Frequently Asked Influenza (Flu) Questions: 2023-2024 Season
Flu Activity & Surveillance
CDC
Employer Flu Toolkit
American Lung Association
Workplace Safety and the Flu
OSHA
Pandemic Flu and the Fair Labor Standards Act: Questions and Answers
Pandemic Flu and the Family and Medical Leave Act: Questions and Answers
USDOL
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