Another nanny and vaccine question

[Anonymous]

Your life, your kids, your choice.

I believe 5/1 is a fine deadline.

Good luck.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am pro vaccine but I do not think it is appropriate to require a vaccination that is authorized only under emergency use. There’s a reason employers and colleges are not requiring it yet.

As a private employer with an at will contract I can require many things that large corporations may not want to or be able to require. I can require my nanny speak Chinese, or say I only want to hire nannies who are under 5’ tall. So I’m pretty sure I can require it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Our nanny has expressed strong vaccine hesitancy. We otherwise love her, but we need a vaccinated nanny, and it seems like most nannies are going now as “child care providers” even though that category is a little squishy.

We are leaning towards giving her a deadline by which she needs to get vaccinated or tell us she won’t be (giving us time to make other arrangements). Is May 1 reasonable? Any tips on how to handle this situation? TIA.

Depends on your location. Some are lumping nannies in with all other child care workers, while others are only allowing Frontline child care workers at this time. Find out what your specific location allows, get a sense of what the vaccination timeline is, and then make your determination from there.

[Anonymous]

Just let her quit or fire her. You are really trying to give her an ultimatum and dead line? She does not HAVE to get the vaccine and you forcing it on her is just awful.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am pro vaccine but I do not think it is appropriate to require a vaccination that is authorized only under emergency use. There’s a reason employers and colleges are not requiring it yet.

As a private employer with an at will contract I can require many things that large corporations may not want to or be able to require. I can require my nanny speak Chinese, or say I only want to hire nannies who are under 5’ tall. So I’m pretty sure I can require it.

I’m a nanny and you sound like an entitled a-hole. Make your may 1st deadline and I hope you know you will also be looking for a new nanny by then, because her body her choice.

Oh, and I’m vaccinated. Just don’t appreciate your disgusting tone like you’re some empress. You’re just a lady oayibg someone to watch your own kids. Yours not a dictator.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Just let her quit or fire her. You are really trying to give her an ultimatum and dead line? She does not HAVE to get the vaccine and you forcing it on her is just awful.

Well this is kind of my point (OP here). She’s not being clear with me about her plans so I sort of need to give her an ultimatum so I can figure out what to do. It’s totally, 100% her choice to get a vaccine or not. And it’s my choice whether to employ her based on factors I deem relevant for the job. If she isn’t going to get the shot that’s fine - I just need to know. I’m not “forcing” it on her. She’s very employable and I’d go to great lengths to help her find a new job. But right now she’s just saying she wants to wait (indefinitely) leaves me in a bit of a bind because I’m not sure she’s ever going to actually get the shot without a deadline.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am pro vaccine but I do not think it is appropriate to require a vaccination that is authorized only under emergency use. There’s a reason employers and colleges are not requiring it yet.

As a private employer with an at will contract I can require many things that large corporations may not want to or be able to require. I can require my nanny speak Chinese, or say I only want to hire nannies who are under 5’ tall. So I’m pretty sure I can require it.

I’m a nanny and you sound like an entitled a-hole. Make your may 1st deadline and I hope you know you will also be looking for a new nanny by then, because her body her choice.

Oh, and I’m vaccinated. Just don’t appreciate your disgusting tone like you’re some empress. You’re just a lady oayibg someone to watch your own kids. Yours not a dictator.

What about what I’ve said makes me sound like a dictator and entitled ahole? I’m asking for advice about a situation that literally everyone I know with a nanny is thinking about - I guess this city has a lot of horrible jerks!! We are an awesome employer in a global pandemic trying to follow good public health advice. Trying to navigate how to deal with an employee that may not want to follow that public health advice.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am pro vaccine but I do not think it is appropriate to require a vaccination that is authorized only under emergency use. There’s a reason employers and colleges are not requiring it yet.

As a private employer with an at will contract I can require many things that large corporations may not want to or be able to require. I can require my nanny speak Chinese, or say I only want to hire nannies who are under 5’ tall. So I’m pretty sure I can require it.

I’m a nanny and you sound like an entitled a-hole. Make your may 1st deadline and I hope you know you will also be looking for a new nanny by then, because her body her choice.

Oh, and I’m vaccinated. Just don’t appreciate your disgusting tone like you’re some empress. You’re just a lady oayibg someone to watch your own kids. Yours not a dictator.

What about what I’ve said makes me sound like a dictator and entitled ahole? I’m asking for advice about a situation that literally everyone I know with a nanny is thinking about - I guess this city has a lot of horrible jerks!! We are an awesome employer in a global pandemic trying to follow good public health advice. Trying to navigate how to deal with an employee that may not want to follow that public health advice.

Different P: Forcing a medical decision on an employee with unknown risks as an ultimatum IS entitled. It might be understandable, but it’s very different from something that is an initial job requirement. You probably took a great deal of time to research the implications of taking the vaccine, and came to your own conclusions about what was best for your health and for your family — yet your need to set a time line and lay out an ultimatum not only does not allow your employee to go through this process, it forces her to choose between her health and her job based solely on your impatience.

This city does have a lot of jerks, and their numbers seem to be increasing. That you describe yourself as “an awesome employer “ says a lot about who you are and what you value.

[Anonymous]

FYI, if you are requiring her to take the vaccine for employment you are legally responsible for any adverse reactions she might have. I assume you have insurance coverage in case things go wrong, but most likely it would only be a few days out of the house to recover from the second shot. That is a reason why most employers aren't mandating the vaccine but are highly recommending them. By requiring it you open yourself up.

[Anonymous]

Sometimes when I've had to draw a hard line with health and safety child stuff, I make the pediatrician the bad guy. What if you said "[Child's] pediatrician recommended that anyone caring for her in the home get immunized for COVID"? It's what I've told family members about the flu/TDAP shot around my then-newborn (of course, they are healthcare workers who don't hesitate to get vaccines).

[Anonymous]

When is your contract renewal?

Does it spell out all vaccines ?

Add the Covid one.

If she’s not willing to renew her contract with the new clause then she’s not a good fit anymore for your family and you’re not a good fit for her. So both parties need to move on.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am pro vaccine but I do not think it is appropriate to require a vaccination that is authorized only under emergency use. There’s a reason employers and colleges are not requiring it yet.

As a private employer with an at will contract I can require many things that large corporations may not want to or be able to require. I can require my nanny speak Chinese, or say I only want to hire nannies who are under 5’ tall. So I’m pretty sure I can require it.

You CAN require it, you're just opening yourself up to potential liability that larger smarter organizations are avoiding. If something happens to your nanny as a result, and you "required" it as part of her keeping her employment, she could very well sue you. This is not a flu shot we're talking about. I know 2 people who had an anaphylactic reaction to the shot.

[Anonymous]

You all are acting like vaccinated people can’t spread the virus.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am pro vaccine but I do not think it is appropriate to require a vaccination that is authorized only under emergency use. There’s a reason employers and colleges are not requiring it yet.

As a private employer with an at will contract I can require many things that large corporations may not want to or be able to require. I can require my nanny speak Chinese, or say I only want to hire nannies who are under 5’ tall. So I’m pretty sure I can require it.

You CAN require it, you're just opening yourself up to potential liability that larger smarter organizations are avoiding. If something happens to your nanny as a result, and you "required" it as part of her keeping her employment, she could very well sue you. This is not a flu shot we're talking about. I know 2 people who had an anaphylactic reaction to the shot.

Even in the extremely unlikely event she had an anaphylactic reaction, there’s very little by way of damages to sue for if she was fine afterwards and she’d be unlikely to win. Or the National vaccine compensation program would pay out, not me. Plus I do have workers comp to the person who asked (not that they’d definitely even cover this). I guess my thinking was that I wouldn’t even put the requirement in writing anyway - it’s more like “we’d really like you to get a shot. If not we understand, it’s your choice - we just need to know so we can make a choice to hire someone else.” This is going to become a very common dynamic very soon. We are not outliers here. Nannies who aren’t vaccinated are going to become less employable, unfortunately.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am pro vaccine but I do not think it is appropriate to require a vaccination that is authorized only under emergency use. There’s a reason employers and colleges are not requiring it yet.

As a private employer with an at will contract I can require many things that large corporations may not want to or be able to require. I can require my nanny speak Chinese, or say I only want to hire nannies who are under 5’ tall. So I’m pretty sure I can require it.

You CAN require it, you're just opening yourself up to potential liability that larger smarter organizations are avoiding. If something happens to your nanny as a result, and you "required" it as part of her keeping her employment, she could very well sue you. This is not a flu shot we're talking about. I know 2 people who had an anaphylactic reaction to the shot.

Even in the extremely unlikely event she had an anaphylactic reaction, there’s very little by way of damages to sue for if she was fine afterwards and she’d be unlikely to win. Or the National vaccine compensation program would pay out, not me. Plus I do have workers comp to the person who asked (not that they’d definitely even cover this). I guess my thinking was that I wouldn’t even put the requirement in writing anyway - it’s more like “we’d really like you to get a shot. If not we understand, it’s your choice - we just need to know so we can make a choice to hire someone else.” This is going to become a very common dynamic very soon. We are not outliers here. Nannies who aren’t vaccinated are going to become less employable, unfortunately.

Soon perhaps, but you're in a rush to require a brand new vaccine right away. Give her some time. There are specific communities of color that have good reason to be hesitant and skeptical of this vaccine. By late spring or summer, as these really start to open up, enough people will have gotten it and the social pressure will be enough that she'll most likely want to get it herself, without you being the jackhole who tried to force her by threatening her with her job.