On Sept. 20, 2022, New York City Mayor Eric Adams announced that the city will end a vaccine mandate for private sector employees that has been in effect since Dec. 27, 2021. The vaccine mandate — which requires employees in NYC to be fully vaccinated and provide employers with proof of their vaccination status unless they have obtained an exemption for medical or religious reasons — was implemented by Mayor Adams’ predecessor, Mayor Bill de Blasio.

Effective Nov. 1, 2022, private sector employers in NYC will no longer be required to mandate COVID-19 vaccination as a condition of working in an NYC office. However, employers are permitted – but not required – to mandate vaccination if they choose to do so, subject to reasonable accommodation considerations for medical and religious objections.

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The legal landscape surrounding vaccination and testing mandates, as well as requests for accommodation of medical and religious exemptions to vaccination and testing, is changing rapidly. Please contact a member of Kramer Levin’s Employment Law department with any questions or concerns about these topics.

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