Can employers mandate workers be vaccinated before returning to work?

It’s pretty clearly established that yes, [individual] employers can require mandatory vaccinations, as a matter of prior health crises and common law. There’ll be some industries where it’s going to be a mandate, like in healthcare, for example. But private employers generally can require their employees to be vaccinated.

There are some exceptions. If somebody has a medical condition that puts them at a reasonable risk, then you have to go through the traditional Americans with Disabilities Act dialogue of determining whether a reasonable accommodation can be provided or whether having to provide such an accommodation would constitute an undue hardship. The second big issue is that if you have somebody who has a bonafide religious objection, you have to take that into consideration. You might want to make an accommodation, but that obligation is not absolute.