Event Details

 Working Through the Pandemic: What About
Vaccine Mandates?

As vaccines for COVID-19 are being rolled out, everyone seems to be asking the same question: can employers require their employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19 as a condition of employment? Given a myriad of unknowns and competing considerations at play, the better question may be should they do so? Join Miller Nash Graham & Dunn attorney Amy Robinson for a practical discussion of this fast-moving issue and highlight some key considerations for employers contemplating whether and how to address vaccination in their workplaces, including:

• balancing occupational safety and health obligations with employee privacy protections,
• complying with employment discrimination laws and disability accommodations requirements,
• labor-related limitations,
• wage and hour issues,
• workers compensation/insurance coverage, and
• reputational and employee-relations concerns

Speaker Bio: Amy A. Robinson
Amy Robinson represents public and private employers throughout Washington, Oregon, and Alaska in a broad range of workplace-related issues. She provides experienced counsel on compliance challenges and disputes covering the entire employment life cycle from hiring to separation, including employee classification, wage-and-hour issues, employee leaves and protected activities, disability and accommodation, and discrimination, retaliation, and harassment prevention. Amy is also adept at guiding employers through policy and handbook development, as well as drafting, negotiating, and enforcing employment-related contracts, such as noncompete agreements, nonsolicitation agreements, and nondisclosure agreements.

Amy’s clients range from small businesses with a single location to large employers with multiple locations in the Pacific Northwest and beyond, and she particularly enjoys the strategic and proactive approach that a new or growing organization requires. Amy’s clients include construction companies and contractors; health care organizations and public hospital districts; CPA firms, law firms, and medical and other professional practices; manufacturing businesses; mining companies; charitable organizations and nonprofits; restaurants and hospitality-related businesses; and family-owned businesses and start-ups. With a range of business cultures and industries to work with, Amy also knows how to tailor her approach and communication style in order to collaborate effectively with business owners, managers, and human resource professionals, as well as decision-making bodies such as executive teams, nonprofit boards, and port commissions.

In addition to direct representation, Amy regularly performs outside and third-party investigations into a wide range of workplace-related complaints and concerns. She is also a frequent speaker and presenter to human resources professionals, managers and employees, clients, and trade and industry groups.

Before her legal career, Amy worked as a human resources professional for a variety of employers and believes this foundation has provided her with a unique and keen awareness of the competing pressures, workplace dynamics, and practical challenges that her clients face every day. Unrelated to her practice of law, she holds a Senior Certified Professional (SHRM – SCP) credential from the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), as well as a Senior Professional Human Resources (SPHR) from the HR Certifications Institute.

Amy is the Alaska representative for Employment Law Alliance.

This program has been pre-approved for 1 SHRM Professional Development Credit (PDC) and 1 HRCI recertification credit.  The use of this official seal confirms that this Activity has met HR Certification Institute’s® (HRCI®)  criteria for recertification credit pre-approval.