DALLAS — Mandating anything in Texas can fire up Texans.
Protesters opposed to employers requiring their workers to get a COVID vaccine have shown up at rallies on the steps of the capitol in Austin and outside hospitals in Houston and Dallas.
Employers can legally require their employees to get vaccinated in Texas.
When the FDA removed the emergency use authorization status and issued full approval to Pfizer’s vaccine, vaccination mandates got their own shot in the arm.
“There’s no doubt [businesses] will find some protection in this FDA approval,” said Eric Cedillo, an attorney and adjunct clinical professor of law at SMU in Dallas.
“They always had that ability to issue a mandate under emergency use, but in some big companies, there might have been violations of collective bargaining agreements and other things that could become problematic. FDA approval, I think, goes a long way in quelling some of those fears.”
Several healthcare companies in North Texas are requiring their employees to get vaccinated: Baylor Scott & White, Texas Health, Cook Children’s and Children’s in Dallas.
AT&T and Texas Instruments are also mandating vaccines.
“We have no greater responsibility to our employees than to provide a safe work environment,” said a spokesperson for Texas Instruments in a statement. “Now more than ever, vaccination remains the number one defense against the spread of COVID-19 and is the best way to protect our employees and our community.”
How many more North Texas companies will make vaccines mandatory remains unclear.
In early August, before Pfizer received full approval, the Dallas Regional Chamber surveyed local businesses about returning to the office during an uptick in COVID cases across the state and country.
92% of the businesses that responded said they would not require their employees to get vaccinated against COVID and 58% said they were not tracking their employees’ vaccination status.
83% of businesses said they were encouraging their employees to get a COVID shot.
Dale Petroskey, president and CEO of the Dallas Regional Chamber, said in a statement Monday that FDA approval should ease lingering concerns among people who’ve been hesitant about getting vaccinated.
“With this FDA approval, the time is now for companies and business leaders to do even more to encourage employees to get vaccinated so that our communities stay healthy, and our local businesses can stay open,” Petroskey said.
Gov. Greg Abbott issued an executive order in July prohibiting governmental entities from requiring their employees to get a vaccine that is being administered under emergency use authorization.
COVID vaccines from Moderna and Johnson & Johnson continue to fall into that category.
Now that Pfizer’s vaccine has received full FDA approval, that executive order does not appear to apply.
Abbott’s office did not respond to a request for comment about whether the governor believes the order does apply or if he would issue an updated order.
In June, Abbott signed Senate Bill 968 into law, banning Texas businesses from requiring proof of vaccination from customers.
The bill does not apply to a business’s employees, but Cedillo said he expects SB 968 to be used to challenge mandates.
“That’s got some tricky language in it,” Cedillo said, “and language is everything when it comes to the law.”
“I’m sure we’ll get some litigation that will reach the Texas Supreme Court and then we’ll gain some clarity as to how these things meld together,” he said.