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Construction workers are among the least likely employees to say they would get a COVID-19 vaccine if one were offered to them, underlining the challenges contractors will face getting their workforces inoculated.
While willingness ranges as high as 77% for workers in higher education, just 53% of construction workers said they’d willingly roll up their sleeves for the shot. That put the group fourth from the bottom in industry rankings, ahead of just retail, transportation and food and beverage workers, according to data research firm Morning Consult.
The firm surveyed 16,970 employed adults between October and January, and concluded that essential, frontline workers who can’t work from home and therefore are at higher risk of exposure, were also among those who have the highest degree of COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy.
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Attorneys from a prominent workforce law firm told contractors that it is within their legal rights to compel workers to get vaccinated against COVID-19, during a webinar hosted Wednesday by the Associated General Contractors of America.
D. Albert Brannen and A. Kevin Troutman, both partners at Atlanta-based Fisher Phillips, compared requiring construction workers to get a coronavirus vaccination to existing rules for healthcare workers that make flu shots mandatory, in order to protect all patients and staff and keep the workplace safe.
The attorneys also recommended contractors set up programs to administer vaccines to workers on jobsites, during work hours and free of charge, in order to get the highest participation possible while ensuring projects continue to move forward.