Employee Vaccine Requirements

3 out of 4 small businesses in the U.S. do not require employees to have proof of vaccination.

Percent of small businesses not requiring employees to have proof of vaccination

Sept 27- Oct 3, 2021

Source: Census Bureau Small Business Pulse Survey. Note: Questionnaire wording is “In the last week, did this business require employees to have proof of COVID-19 vaccination before physically coming to work.”

This summer, the Biden administration began announcing vaccine mandates for the federal government employees and contractors, and announced that similar mandates for companies with more than 100 employees would be forthcoming.¹ Before and after these announcements, many large corporations announced vaccine mandates for new hires, employees interfacing with customers, and employees returning to offices.^2,3 Vaccine mandates for employees of New York City public schools, while contentious, pushed vaccination rates above 95%.⁴ A vaccine mandate for health care workers in New York state yielded similar results. While a relatively small fraction of employees has refused to comply, these mandates have led to some reduction in workforce. About 34,000 health care workers and 20,500 home health workers in New York state lost their jobs or were put on leave for refusing the vaccine.⁵ Given the tight labor market, these losses are difficult for employers who are already struggling to find employees (Quits Rate by Industry).

In contrast, 75% of small businesses in the U.S. do not require employees to have proof of vaccination — possibly for ideological reasons, and possibly due to challenges finding workers. 12 states have banned vaccine mandates, making it more difficult for smaller businesses to institute vaccine requirements. Meanwhile, the majority of small businesses in Puerto Rico are already requiring vaccines — a level exceeding all U.S. states.⁶

1. “Biden announces new vaccine mandates that could cover 100 million Americans”. Liptak, Collins. CNN Politics. https://www.cnn.com/2021/09/09/politics/joe-biden-covid-speech/index.html

2. “From McDonald’s to Goldman Sachs, here are the companies mandating vaccines for all or some employees”. Messenger. NBC News. August, 2021. https://www.nbcnews.com/business/business-news/here-are-companies-mandating-vaccines-all-or-some-employees-n1275808

3. “Where Companies Stand on Vaccine Requirements and Return to Office”. Marcos. The New York Times. September, 2021. https://www.nytimes.com/article/company-vaccine-rto-covid.html

4. “Covid vaccine mandate takes effect for NYC teachers, staff”. Matthews. AP. https://apnews.com/article/coronavirus-pandemic-health-new-york-education-new-york-city-bc516b3c5012bd31e8f9a83cb06de18f

5. “NY COVID-19 vaccine mandate reduced health care workforce by 3%. Here’s the biggest impact”. Robinson. Lohud. October, 2021.

   https://www.lohud.com/story/news/coronavirus/2021/10/14/how-many-health-workers-lost-jobs-due-ny-vaccine-mandate/8449413002/

6. “Puerto Rico Has Tougher Workplace Vaccine Requirements Than U.S. States”. Callen. U.S. Census Bureau. June, 2021.

   https://www.census.gov/library/stories/2021/06/puerto-rico-has-tougher-workplace-vaccine-requirements-than-states.html