Dealership Employees Suspended for Fake Vax Cards

A GNYADA member, whose mask policy requires staff to submit proof of COVID-19 vaccination, has alerted the Association that they received fake vaccination cards from employees.  

The dealer had surveyed all employees asking if they had been vaccinated, the employees who submitted the fake vaccination cards originally said no. However, when it was announced that employees with proof of vaccination can ditch their mask, these employees produced vaccination cards. 

An alert manager reviewing the cards realized that these employees first replied no and recognized that the produced proof meant something was not right. Next, the dealer questioned the employees, they continued to state that they had received the vaccine and the proof was legitimate.  The dealer called the vaccine location, identified by the employees, and learned that the particular vaccine the employees claimed to have received was not distributed at that location on that date.  It was clear that the employees were lying and that they had been caught.

The employees who submitted the phony cards have been suspended.

According to an announcement from the FBI, the unauthorized use of an official government agency's seal, such as the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) or the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), is a crime and may be punishable by fine or imprisonment of not more than five years, or both.

Legislation to make forgery or possession of a forged immunization record a felony was introduced in the New York Legislature earlier this month. The new bill would add forged immunization records, “including, but not limited to, the COVID-19 vaccination record card approved by the CDC,” to New York State penal law, as a class D felony which is punishable by up to seven years in prison.

What should dealers do?
If your dealership is requiring employees to produce proof of vaccine, you may want to have them show their New York Excelsior Pass. New York authorities have noted that any fake vaccine cards will not work with New York’s digital Excelsior Pass, which relies on digital vaccination records and not the paper cards. 

Employees can access their New York Excelsior Pass through the app, available for free from the Apple App Store and Google Play Store or print their Pass from the Excelsior Pass website.

New York also offers an Excelsior Pass Scanner app to validate that your employees or customers have valid Passes and are safe to enter your establishment. To learn more about the scanner app click here. 

Dealers requiring employees to produce proof of vaccine, may check records for those who took off time during working hours for the vaccine, or your employee responses when asked to provide a “yes” or “no” response to the question about being vaccinated. If you find inconsistencies, you will need to discuss those with your employees.  

The penalties for submitting false documentation can be severe and you should remind employees about your internal disciplinary system that could lead to termination.

If you decide to institute the honor system, you should also be on the lookout for fake vaccination cards.

If you have questions about this bulletin, please call GNYADA's Dealer Hotline at 718.746.5900.