Fisher Phillips Launches 50-State Maps Addressing Vaccine and Mask Mandates for Private Employers

Fisher Phillips, one of the country’s preeminent labor and employment law firms representing employers, announces the launch of its COVID-19 Private Employer Maps, a new interactive tool that provides multistate employers with intelligence on requirements and prohibitions for private employers on vaccine mandates and masks in the workplace. The maps are a comprehensive and accessible tool for employers to help them navigate rapidly changing state-specific laws on vaccines and masks in the workplace.

The maps track state-level restrictions pertaining to whether private employers can mandate vaccines, whether private employers can require employees to wear masks, and whether there exist requirements applicable to certain industries or localities within each state. The maps will be updated as new laws emerge so that employers have the most up-to-date intelligence. The maps do not address specific individual localities – only whether specific requirements or mandates which go beyond the state’s requirements exist. The maps also only apply to private businesses unless specifically noted. It does not cover public entities, nor does it cover schools, which are increasingly subject to individualized rules.

“As the Delta variant surges across the country, many states and localities have implemented mandates or prohibitions on the rights of private employers to require vaccines of their employees, to ask about the vaccination status of employees, and to require masks of their workforces,” said Bob Robenalt, partner in the firm’s Columbus, Ohio office and member of the firm’s COVID-19 Taskforce and Vaccine work group. “We saw the need for a 50-state map to quickly and effectively address questions from employers at the most basic level. While the maps are not a substitute for critical legal counsel on these issues, they are an excellent starting point for employers to navigate these challenging workplace issues in their workplaces across the country.”

The COVID-19 Private Employers Maps are one of many new technology-driven tools that Fisher Phillips has rolled out for clients and the public. It comes on the heels of the launch of the firm’s redesigned website and complements the firm’s COVID-19 Employment Litigation Tracker, Wage and Hour Maps and Pay Equity Map.