On Sept. 20, 2022, New York City Mayor Eric Adams announced that the city will end a vaccine mandate for private sector employees that has been in effect since Dec. 27, 2021. The vaccine mandate — which requires employees in NYC to be fully vaccinated and provide employers with proof of their vaccination status unless they have obtained an exemption for medical or religious reasons — was implemented by Mayor Adams' predecessor, Mayor Bill de Blasio.
Effective Nov. 1, 2022, private sector employers in NYC will no longer be required to mandate COVID-19 vaccination as a condition of working in an NYC office. However, employers are permitted – but not required – to mandate vaccination if they choose to do so, subject to reasonable accommodation considerations for medical and religious objections.
The legal landscape surrounding vaccination and testing mandates, as well as requests for accommodation of medical and religious exemptions to vaccination and testing, is changing rapidly. Please contact a member of Kramer Levin's Employment Law department with any questions or concerns about these topics.