University COVID-19 Vaccination Guidance
April 1, 2021 9:10 AM

Dear faculty and staff,

Currently the university is not requiring employees to be vaccinated for COVID-19. We encourage members of the university community to be vaccinated if and when they are able to do so. We also acknowledge that some individuals have health conditions or other reasons why they cannot be vaccinated.

Employees may be asked about their vaccination status as part of contact tracing efforts. All employees are directed to cooperate with these efforts in order to identify and reduce infection risks for members of our campus community or the surrounding area.

In addition, there may be aspects of campus operations that make it relevant for supervisors to ask employees to voluntarily disclose their vaccination status.

For example, state and federal health officials recently issued guidelines pertaining to fully vaccinated individuals that relax certain requirements for quarantine, interactions in groups, venue capacity and travel restrictions. “Fully vaccinated” means 14 days have passed since receiving your final dose of the vaccine. 

In order to implement COVID-related guidelines and policies affecting university operations, supervisors may ask employees if they are fully vaccinated. Supervisors may not ask employees why they are not vaccinated or ask any other questions seeking the employee’s personal health information. For example: 

• Supervisors should not ask questions such as:
  • When are you getting vaccinated?
  • Why haven’t you been vaccinated for COVID-19?
  • Do you have a health-related reason for not being vaccinated?
  • If you have been vaccinated, why aren’t you returning to in-person work?

• Supervisors may ask questions such as:
  • Are you willing to disclose whether you have been vaccinated for COVID-19?
  • Have you been vaccinated for COVID-19?

Supervisors should clarify how vaccination status is relevant to unit operations and ensure that employees who are not vaccinated (or who choose not to disclose their vaccination status) are not penalized or prevented from participating in the operations of the university.

Supervisors cannot require employees to return to in-person work solely because they are vaccinated. Moreover, if an employee has received an accommodation through the Office for Access and Equity (OAE), and the supervisor is not sure whether the accommodation is still necessary, they should contact OAE rather than taking it up with the employee directly. (CAM policy HR-67).

As more members of our campus community and the surrounding region are vaccinated, and as local, state, and federal policy and public health guidance evolves, we will continue to update our guidance for the campus community.

Thank you for your ongoing understanding and patience as we continue to navigate this evolving guidance.

Sincerely,

Robert J. Jones
Chancellor