Earlier this year, Mayor Bill DeBlasio instituted a vaccination mandate for all people working in New York City. Workers in the state must have proof of at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccination, otherwise the employer must deny them entry into the workplace. NYC Health has recently released further Guidance regarding the vaccination mandate. This Guidance provides additional details for employers about specifics of the mandate:

- Employees may enter the workplace for a limited purpose, such as delivery pickup or clocking in/out to work;

- The domicile of an employee is not relevant to this mandate: if the employee works in New York City, at least one dose of the vaccination is required;

- A second dose of a two-dose vaccination must be administered to a worker within 45 days of given proof of the first dose of the vaccination.

The Guidance also provides assistance for employers who must keep records of employee vaccinations. The Guidance outlines three possible methods an employer can use to meet their recordkeeping obligations:

- Keep records for each employee that includes proof of vaccination (or reasonable accommodation) with supporting documentation;

- A custom document created by the employer that includes the employee’s name, vaccination status, date of second dose (with supporting documentation, if applicable), and/or a record of reasonable accommodation (with supporting documentation, if applicable); or

- Daily verification of each employee of their vaccination status (with documentation of those daily verifications).

Finally, the Guidance specifies which types of documents are sufficient to show proof of vaccination under the law:

- A photo or hard copy of their CDC vaccination card

- NYC COVID Safe App

- New York State Excelsior Pass

- CLEAR’s Digital Vaccine Card, CLEAR Health Pass

- Official vaccine record

- A photo or hard copy of an official vaccination record of a vaccine administered outside the United States for one of the following vaccines : AstraZeneca/SK Bioscience, Serum Institute of India/COVISHIELD and Vaxzevria, Sinopharm, or Sinovac.

Employers are required to complete an Affirmation of Compliance with Workplace Vaccination Requirements prior to December 27, affirming their compliance with the NYC mandate.

You can see the entirety of the Guidance HERE