Can Massachusetts Employers Require Face Masks and Vaccines?

Americans seem particularly emotional about face masks and vaccines. Not surprisingly, we’ve received a number of questions about whether an employer can force an employee to get a vaccine or force an employee to wear a face mask. Our answers to these questions are below. Please note, here we are only talking about employer-employee relationships. Whether the government can require a vaccine or a face mask is a separate question.

Can My Massachusetts Employer Force Me to Wear a Face Mask?

In all likelihood, yes. The only potential exceptions to that would apply to two types of employees: (1) ones who object on religious grounds and (2) ones who object on disability grounds.

Laws prohibiting religious and disability discrimination require employers to provide reasonable accommodations to employees who object to a workplace rule (here, wearing a face mask) on either religious grounds or because doing so aggravates their disability. In those situations, an employer may have to deviate from its face mask requirement if a reasonable alternative exists. We haven’t heard of employees objecting to a face mask requirement on religious grounds, but we’ve heard plenty of employees objecting on disability grounds. Read more about reasonable accommodations here.

Reasonable alternatives to a face mask requirement for disabled employees may include face shields, telecommuting, or finding a way for the employee to isolate at work. These alternatives won’t work in all employment settings (cooks can’t telecommute for example), but if an alternative is feasible and reasonable, an employer should consider deviating from its face mask requirement. Additionally, under most circumstances, the employer may ask about the employee’s disability and may even ask for a doctor’s note to further understand the employee’s request for an accommodation.

Important to note: employees are not entitled to the accommodation they want, they are only entitled to have their employer provide them with reasonable accommodations. By any measure, it’s not reasonable for an employee to insist on being able to work without having to take any measures to prevent the spread of a virus during a pandemic.

Can My Massachusetts Employer Force Me to Get a Vaccine?

This one is less clear and, like face masks, requires an analysis of laws prohibiting discrimination based on disability and religion.

Here, certain religions actually do object to vaccines. In those circumstances, employers will have to provide reasonable accommodations to the vaccine which, again, may include face masks, face shields, telecommuting, or finding a way for the employee to isolate at work. In our experience, it seems unlikely that an employee could credibly object to these alternatives on religious grounds.

Likewise, employees with certain disabilities (including certain allergies to what may be in the vaccine) may object to the vaccine requirement on disability grounds. In those situations, employers will have to consider providing reasonable accommodations to requiring a vaccine which, again, may include face masks, face shields, telecommuting, or finding a way for the employee to isolate at work.

Again, it is important to note that employees are only entitled to have their employer provide them with a reasonable accommodation. Thus, it can be argued that it is not reasonable for an employee to insist on being able to work without having to take any measures to prevent the spread of a deadly virus or disease.