The following information is being provided to California medical practices to assist in navigating the August 5, 2021 Order by the California Department of Public Health requiring all healthcare employees be vaccinated against COVID-19 by September 30, 2021.
CAP’s recommendations for complying with the order are as follows:
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- Staff members who are not vaccinated will need to meet one of two criteria for exemption from the mandatory vaccine requirement – a sincerely held religious belief, or a medical reason. In either instance, they will need to complete a Declination Form to be kept on file. In instances of a medical exemption, a doctor’s note must be accompanied with the form.
- Those not vaccinated must be tested each week at the employer’s expense. The employer must also pay the staff member for time used to get tested.
- If the staff member doesn’t qualify for either of the exemptions and still won’t get vaccinated, he or she will need to be terminated from employment.
- CAP advises that you meet with your employees as a group to inform them of the new requirements and distribute the CDPH Order. Following that, schedule one-on-one meetings with staff to ask them for copies of their vaccine cards to be kept in a separate file from their personnel file, or to complete the Declination form.
Forms
- CDPH Vaccine Guidelines (effective September 30, 2021)
- COVID-19 Vaccine Declination Form
- Notice to Employee as to a Change in Relationship Form
- Sample COVID-19 Termination Letter
Further information may be found at www.cdph.ca.gov. Please visit CAP's COVID-19 Resource Center for additional resources, vaccine information, critical alerts, and more.