CAN MY EMPLOYER REQUIRE ME TO BE VACCINATED AGAINST THE SWINE FLU?
If you are an employee of a private employer, and you do not have a contract, your employer probably can require you to be vaccinated against the Swine Flu. The recent controversy over the state of New York’s attempt to require health services workers to be vaccinated involves action by the state and therefore subject to the federal Constitution, which provides a right to privacy. A challenge by nurses in Washington State involves the nurses’ union’s collective bargaining agreement, which requires the employer to bargain with the union before changing any of the terms of the employment agreement. If you were to be terminated for refusing to be vaccinated, your best claim would be that your termination was wrongful in violation of Connecticut’s public policy contained in the law of invasion of privacy contained in our tort law. We know of no cases on this issue, however, and do not assert that this claim would be successful.