URGENT: U.S. PROCESS FOR APPLYING FOR EXEMPTION FROM VACCINATION MANDATE – NOVEMBER 1 DEADLINE
KEVIN COVERT | VICE PRESIDENT AND GENERAL COUNSEL, HUMAN RESOURCES
As we communicated yesterday, most U.S. Honeywell employees must be fully vaccinated by December 8, 2021, in compliance with President Biden’s Executive Order 14042. The Executive Order allows employees to apply for an exemption from the vaccination mandate based either on a medical issue (e.g., an employee’s medical provider has determined that the employee has a contraindication for the approved vaccines), or the employee’s objection based on a sincerely held religious belief.
Any employee wishing to apply for a medical or religious exemption may do so by accessing the U.S. Vaccination Exemption Forms and downloading the relevant form, which includes the applicable process instructions. Alternatively, employees may contact their HR representative if they need assistance accessing the appropriate form. Employees should return the completed form and other required documentation to their HR representative by November 1, 2021. Any employee who submits falsified documents or information in support of an exemption request will be terminated for cause.
After reviewing an employee’s complete application, the Company will determine if an accommodation is warranted under applicable law. The HR representative will communicate the Company’s decision no later than December 8, provided the application was submitted on or before the November 1 deadline. Possible accommodations may include unpaid leave and/or a regular testing regimen, mask wearing, social distancing, working in an area that is separate from areas where vaccinated employees are working, etc.
Exemption requests may be denied if (i) the employee’s application is incomplete or does not provide adequate legal justification for an exemption, (ii) any possible accommodation is unreasonable, (iii) it would pose a direct threat to the health and/or safety of the employee or others in the workplace, or (iv) it creates an undue hardship on the Company. After December 8, 2021, the employee will be ineligible to continue working at Honeywell unless and until they are fully vaccinated.
If the employee’s exemption request is denied or the employee refuses the accommodation the Company agrees to provide, they will have five calendar days from the date the Company’s decision is communicated to get a vaccine dose. Proof of that dose must be provided to the employee’s HR representative if the employee will not be fully vaccinated by December 8, 2021. Such employee must then be fully vaccinated within five weeks of the decision or will be subject to discipline, up to and including termination of employment without severance. Even if the employee begins the vaccination process, they will be placed on unpaid leave of absence beginning December 9, 2021, until they are fully vaccinated. Fully vaccinated means two weeks have elapsed after the second dose in a two-dose vaccine (e.g., Pfizer or Moderna) or two weeks after a single-dose vaccine (e.g., Johnson & Johnson/Janssen).
Please contact your HR representative if you have any questions regarding the exemption/accommodation process.
NOTE: IN ORDER TO ENSURE THAT AN EXEMPTION REQUEST CAN BE PROCESSED PRIOR TO DECEMBER 9, 2021, ANY REQUEST FOR AN ACCOMMODATION MUST BE RECEIVED BY THE EMPLOYEE’S HR REPRESENTATIVE BY NOVEMBER 1, 2021. ANY SUBMISSION AFTER NOVEMBER 1, 2021, MIGHT NOT BE PROCESSED BY DECEMBER 8, 2021, AND MAY RESULT IN THE EMPLOYEE BEING PLACED ON AN UNPAID LEAVE OF ABSENCE UNTIL SUCH REQUEST HAS BEEN FULLY ADJUDICATED.