Mandating Employee COVID-19 Vaccination: Hesitancy and BIPOC Concerns

Author
Joy Iroegbu, Wilfrid Laurier University
Region
North America
Topic
Ethics & Social Justice
Strategy & General Management
Human Resources & Organizational Behavior
Length
3 pages
Keywords
vaccine hesitancy
ethics
covid-19
pandemic
BIPOC
Human Resource Management
Copyright Holder
Society for Case Research
Student Price
$4.00
Target Audience
Undergraduate Students

The US Food and Drug Administration’s emergency use authorization of COVID-19 vaccines led J. R. Logan Hospital in March 2021 to be one of the first to mandate that all employees be vaccinated or else be terminated. Several hundred of its 8,000 employees immediately pushed back. Most were in nursing, custodial, kitchen, and unskilled healthcare positions. Many were minorities, recent immigrants or Black, Indigenous and people of color (BIPOC). One vocal group of employees had filed for a court injunction. The vice president for human resources was responsible for implementing a plan to achieve 100% compliance. Students must consider: the ethical issues involved; concerns of vaccine-hesitant and BIPOC employees; implementation options; and selecting the best course of action.

Learning Outcomes

In completing this assignment, students should be able to:

1. Understand the ethical issues in a vaccination mandate for a hospital and its employees

2. Identify vaccine hesitancy issues raised by employees

3. Identify implementation strategies to secure employee compliance

4. Decide and defend the best course of action