NYC New Vaccine Mandate
/Effective Monday, December 27, 2021
As the City attempts to contain further spread of COVID-19 by implementing a workplace vaccine mandate, dealers will need to balance the potential loss of employees for refusing to be vaccinated against a loss of employees due to increased positive COVID cases requiring quarantine.
We’ve all seen the headlines, positive COVID cases are on the rise, there is overlapping information about worksite safety protocols from the CDC, New York State Health Department, and local county and city government agencies, making it understandable that COVID safety compliance has become a challenge for dealers.
Below are the steps City dealers must take to comply with vaccine mandate.
NYC businesses (including dealers) must:
Document whether all full and part-time employees are fully vaccinated (two doses of Pfizer or Moderna or a single dose of Johnson & Johnson).
Starting December 27, employees must have at least one dose of the vaccination to enter the dealership. Employees who have not received at least one dose of the vaccination should not be allowed into your dealership.
Acceptable forms of proof of vaccination are:
CDC COVID-19 Vaccination Card (paper, digital or physical photo of such a card)
A New York City COVID Safe App
A New York State Excelsior Pass, or
CLEAR’s digital vaccine card
Record Retention Requirements
Dealers must keep a copy of the employee’s proof of vaccination, either by making a copy of it or creating a record that includes the employee’s name, and that they are fully vaccinated. If the employee has only had the first dose, the dealer also needs to track the date (no more than 45 days later) by which proof the employee received their second dose must be received.
Dealers must produce these records to any City agency upon request.
These records must be stored securely, separately from employee personnel records, and be accessible by limited staff and only for legitimate dealership needs.
Reasonable Accommodations
The City has indicated that there are very limited circumstances when an employee may receive an accommodation. Employees who have a sincerely held religious belief or a medical condition may request a reasonable accommodation to avoid getting vaccinated. The city has created checklists to help businesses evaluate the need for an employee’s accommodation. The checklists can be found here: https://www1.nyc.gov/assets/doh/downloads/pdf/covid/vaccination-workplace-accommodations.pdf
According to the NYC DOH FAQs, if an employer follows these checklists and keeps them on file, that employer will have demonstrated that the reasonable request for accommodation was handled properly. Dealers will have to produce these forms to any City agency upon request.
Signage
Dealers must post, in a conspicuous location, by December 27th, an “Attestation Certificate” indicating their compliance with the mandate. The certificate can be found here: https://www1.nyc.gov/assets/doh/downloads/pdf/covid/covid-19-vaccination-workplace-requirement-affirmation.pdf.
Dealers can terminate employees that fail to comply with NYC’s vaccine mandate.
Fines/Penalties
Dealers that fail to comply face fines of $1,000 per violation for the first infraction, and $2,000 for subsequent violations within 12 months, and $5,000 for any violation committed within twelve months of the second penalty.
The City has published FAQs about the vaccine mandate, which can be viewed here: https://www1.nyc.gov/assets/counseltothemayor/downloads/Key-to-NYC-FAQ.pdf
Should you have any questions, please contact GNYADA's Dealer Hotline at 718.746.5900.
December 27, 2021
