Verifying Sincerity: A human resources perspective on vaccine mandates.

• Author: Doggett, J. Maija
• Position: PROFESSIONAL SERVICES

You can say I am a card-carrying, dyed-in-the-wool, devoted human resources professional. I got my bachelor's degree in business management, with an emphasis in human resource management, from UAA in 1998. I passed the Human Resource Certification Institute's Professional in Human Resources Exam and, two years later after completing the required work experience, I had earned the privilege of officially calling myself a PHR.

Early in my HR training I was taught in no uncertain terms that religious and medical discussions do not belong in the workplace. It was ingrained in me! At every company I have worked for, I've coached managers on the virtues of steering clear of those topics--and the risks of NOT avoiding them. I've handled complaints from employees about colleagues who engage in the prohibited discussions. Essentially, I've been the bouncer keeping those inappropriate religious and medical discussions out of the workplace.

But now I'm leading discussions on those very topics with employees who are not going to get vaccinated.

These discussions are not new. Vaccine mandates are not the first time anyone has requested a religious exemption from a company policy or an ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) accommodation for a medical condition in the workplace. Some employers probably have more experience than others, but most employers have at one time or another fielded a request for religious exemption from working on Saturday or an ADA request for accommodation to have a service animal at work. I've certainly been there.

But COVID-19 vaccine exemption requests come with the threat of job loss for my coworkers.

Deputized by Government

Whether I agree with the vaccine mandate or not, as an HR professional for my employer I'm an agent of the government tasked with forcing people to take the COVID-19 vaccine or else spill their guts to me about their personal religious beliefs or medical conditions. And if the gut-spilling is not successful (meaning they aren't approved for exemption), I'll need to terminate their employment.

This is also not new. HR has been deputized by government for decades. Businesses are charged with enforcing immigration law, for example, and they delegate that enforcement task to HR. HR also ensures businesses don't violate labor laws, wage and hour laws, or anti-discrimination laws. HR is the watchdog that ensures businesses don't fire pregnant people for being pregnant. HR forces employers to allow employees to...