Dealing with the delta: Mandating and incentivizing the COVID-19 vaccine

With the COVID-19 delta variant on the rampage, the federal government and many private employers are ramping up vaccination campaigns. Statistics show the unvaccinated are 11 times more likely than the vaccinated to die from the virus. The feds are poised to mandate vaccinations outright for employees of many private employers. But in the meantime, a growing number of employers are using medical-plan related wellness programs to incentivize employees to get vaccinated.

In this first episode of Season 6, Ed and Scott outline the boxes an employer must check to promote vaccinations through a wellness program. Paula Day, Director of Lockton’s HR Compliance Consulting, drops by to school the guys on the similar boxes an employer must check when incentivizing vaccines outside of a wellness program. In this episode, the trio address:

• Which employers are subject to the Biden administration’s new vaccination mandate?
• Why employers cannot condition medical plan eligibility – or coverage of treatment of the virus – on vaccination status?
• Is Ed and Scott’s mountain climbing adventure a perfect metaphor for employers’ vaccination efforts?
• Employers need a vaccination policy; what should it include?
• Why was Scott so full of bad ideas during this episode’s lightning round?