Managing Employee Vaccination Policies and Documentation

The current rollout of COVID-19 vaccines amid varying public views on their safety and efficacy has resulted in employers grappling with different levels of policies. Organizations are deciding whether to implement mandatory vaccination policies, incentivized vaccination policies, or strategies that leave it up to employees to decide whether they will be vaccinated - all while continuing to enforce other workplace safety measures.

Whether or not your organization decides* to enforce mandatory vaccinations, you might need solutions to plan for, track and report on vaccine status for their workforces and/or patients. Additionally, employees need a way to securely self-attest their health status - whether they’ve been vaccinated, when the doses were administered and which vaccine they received.

New processes bring new questions

Managing vaccine records poses new questions and requirements for employers. Depending on the policy they move forward with, organizations will need to create a number of new processes to:

• Verify and document employee vaccinations

• Establish record keeping protocols for employees’ medical information

• Document and administer accommodation requests

• Address non-compliance with policies 

Additionally, employers must keep employees’ vaccination status and underlying conditions confidential in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and, if applicable, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). Whether an employer may require or mandate COVID-19 vaccination is a matter of state or other applicable law. If an employer requires employees to provide proof that they have received a COVID-19 vaccination from a pharmacy or their own healthcare provider, the employer cannot mandate that the employee provide any medical information as part of the proof.

Moving forward, employers will need to stay current on forthcoming legal developments, which may include new recommendations from public health authorities and/or worker protections from federal or state agencies. Employers need this data in order to plan for different scenarios and make real time decisions regarding who returns to the office/work space, capacity for certain sites/buildings and more.

Digital processes for vaccination documentation

To create new vaccine processes and policies so that they’re effective and easy to follow, organizations need to approach them in a digital-first way. With the Docusign Agreement Cloud for HR, teams can take advantage of electronic signature technology, pre-built templates, PowerForms and Docusign’s integrations with Workday, ServiceNow, Salesforce and other systems.

• Clearly communicate, distribute and implement policies: Employees need to know their organization’s stance on employee vaccinations and returning safely to work as soon as possible. Additionally, employees need to be able to communicate their needs and current health conditions to their employer. HR teams can use pre-built templates or Docusign Click to generate employee consent forms and track the acknowledgement of documents. They can also leverage Bulk Send to distribute and track employee policy updates en masse.

• Collect documentation: Teams will need to plan for a process to collect vaccination records, employee exemptions to vaccinations and/or exceptions to returning to work location. Docusign eSignature and PowerForms allow employees to provide vaccine updates pertinent to them, by providing a self-service signing experience for employees

• Store employee data: With Docusign’s pre-built integrations, HR teams can send electronic documentation through partner solutions like Workday, ServiceNow, Salesforce and more so that employee records are stored centrally.

By creating these new processes in a digital-first way, organizations will be able to:

• Save time in the back end by creating digital processes for employee signature and management of those documents

• Simplify the actions needed from HR teams and employees

• Stay compliant by creating a digital footprint of employee documentation, consent and signatures

• Maintain employee safety as a priority by distributing policies and procedures in a timely matter

• Provide an intuitive modern experience for HR and for employees

To get started, learn more about the Docusign Agreement Cloud for Human Resources.

*Docusign understands the sensitivity of this topic and is not encouraging employers to track or not to track employee vaccinations. Rather, we are here to provide solutions for employers to navigate the many challenges presented by Covid-19, including helping to generate, distribute, and collect employee signatures on documents.