With many current COVID-19 safety protocols dependent on vaccination status, verification and vaccine mandates continue to raise unique confidentiality and privacy considerations for employers.

Here are some important points to keep in mind when tracking, collecting, or disclosing an employee’s vaccination status in certain circumstances.

The Vaccination Inquiry
With the exception of a few jurisdictions that limit your ability to pose vaccine inquiries or seek proof of vaccination, employers are permitted to ask for an employee’s vaccination status or proof of vaccination under federal and state law. And contrary to a popular misconception, employers are almost always never blocked by HIPAA as you seek information about an employee’s vaccine status.

However, employers who ask about an employee’s vaccination status or proof must be careful about delving into an employee’s other health information. For example, simply tracking if an employee was vaccinated or asking to produce a copy of the vaccination card or an attestation with the date(s) the vaccination was administered would not dig too deep. However, asking an employee why they were or were not vaccinated could be a disability-related inquiry, triggering additional obligations.