Wilmington company will require its 500 employees to get COVID-19 vaccine

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — One of the area’s top employers says they will require their staff to get vaccinated for COVID-19.

CastleBranch, a background screening company, recently announced a vaccine requirement for its 500 team members. There will be exceptions though.

“To strengthen our community, we implemented a vaccine requirement, but we also recognize that not every member of our team will be able to vaccinated,” said one spokesperson. “They may not be able to get the vaccine for medical reasons, or for religious or closely held philosophical beliefs.”

Those unable to receive the vaccine, according to UNC law professor Jeff Hirsch, have to be defined by the Americans with Disabilities Act as disabled and must show the vaccine interferes with their disability. Hirsch says that’s because North Carolina is an “at will” state.

“At will means, unless there’s an exception, which we can talk about, an employer can fire an employee and an employee can quit for any reason at all. Or no reason,” said Hirsch.

In these cases, companies need to provide reasonable accommodations for the workers who meet those exemptions, unless they cause the company unique hardship.

“If you have a service job that requires just by the nature of the job you have to be onsite, remote work is not going to be viewed as reasonable,” Hirsch explained. “On the other hand, you might have a job where in the general case its reasonable, but you found it imposes this huge cost for whatever reason because some company specific fact.”

In the case of Castle Branch, one spokesman says the nature of their employees’ work lends itself to reasonable accommodation.

“In some cases, that may mean those folks will work remotely, in other cases, we will follow some of the guidance set by the CDC.”

Their release states this move will help “protect its community from the threat of COVID-19 while providing support and accommodations to those who can’t be vaccinated for medical, religious, or philosophical reasons. The policy is being implemented to help protect team members, and the greater Wilmington community, during the pandemic, while still demonstrating compassion for those unable to receive the vaccine.”

Implementing a COVID-19 vaccination requirement for any company can be complex, demanding compliance with the Equal Opportunity Employment Commission’s (EEOC) guidance, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Title VII and Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA), and requires a process that allows for vaccine exemptions and reasonable accommodations for those who are unable to receive the vaccine.

Employers who fail to comply with these regulations, or to include a process for vaccine waivers, can face substantial legal liability, explained David Parker, former Interim Vice Chancellor and General Counsel for UNC–Chapel Hill and member of the Infectious Disease Council.

“Employers are legally entitled to require their employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19, and in some sectors public health needs make doing so a critical necessity,” Parker said. “But the law also requires accommodation of medical conditions and religious or, in some states, philosophical beliefs that make vaccines unacceptable for some employees.”

Team members will show proof of vaccination status – or communicate a waiver request – and get a Real Vaccination ID card.

“The two-card structure adheres to regulatory guidance for exemptions, and helps to prevent discrimination lawsuits that employers enacting vaccine requirements may be vulnerable to,” a release by CastleBranch states.

Real Vaccination ID is a driver’s license-sized card that contains the cardholder’s name, date of birth, address, photo, and vaccination or waiver status. It will be free for CastleBranch employees.

“We’re working to protect our people – to protect our homes, our businesses and our community,” CastleBranch CEO Brett Martin said. “The new normal under COVID-19 has made that complex, but not impossible. We’ve found a path through the storm that will keep our people safe, keep their private information in their hands, and keep us moving forward as we reemerge from the pandemic.”