Unvaccinated Healthcare Workers carry Significant Risks for Employers

The Philadelphia Paid Sick Leave Ordinance exposes healthcare providers and employers of licensed healthcare providers to onerous costs if a worker contracts a serious COVID infection, leading affected employers to re-evaluate their employee vaccine policies.

The City of Philadelphia has expanded protections for all healthcare workers, including unspecialized support staff, to ensure that any worker contracting COVID-19, receives paid sick leave for their entire recovery time, regardless of length. As an added bonus, the healthcare worker is entitled to compensation for all healthcare costs associated with treatment for COVID. Apparently cognizant of the health risks to which Philadelphia healthcare workers were exposed as they worked tirelessly to continue providing essential care, the City stepped in to protect their jobs and ensure that COVID survivors were not burdened with hefty medical bills. However, they did so at the expense of the healthcare workers' employers, shifting the entirety of this burden onto any healthcare organization or employer of a person "licensed...to provide medical or emergency services."

While these expanded protections are still in their infancy, they likely apply to many Medicaid-funded organizations that do not consider themselves "healthcare providers" including some social services providers.

How much will these Expanded Protections cost Employers?

Paid Sick Leave: Any healthcare worker who contracts COVID-19 during the pandemic is entitled to paid time off for recovery, without limitation. Ordinarily, this time off would be covered by the employers paid time off policy for infections with non-serious symptoms as would be experienced by an infected person vaccinated against COVID-19. However, an unvaccinated individual is at risk of developing serious symptoms, possibly requiring hospitalization, or resulting in "long COVID" where various symptoms linger long after the individual overcomes the infection. In this way, it is hard to anticipate how much time off an unvaccinated employee may need to recover from a COVID infection.

Employer Reimbursement for Medical Costs: It is here that the risk associated with unvaccinated employees becomes unmanageable for most employers. While a hospital has the ability to treat its infected staff and thus contain these costs, many healthcare organizations lack this luxury. The Ordinance is also unclear on who has the primary responsibility for these medical costs--health insurers or the employer--opening employers to the costly risk that insurers will seek indemnification from employers based on the Ordinance. The Ordinance is also silent on what type of treatment is covered, simply mandating that the affected employee be "reimbursed for all medical expenses related to treatment." This leaves unanswered the question of whether the employer is also financially responsible for treatment for comorbidities that is needed because of the COVID infection.

Employers Affected by this Expansion of Protections

While the law as written clearly defines the protections granted to healthcare workers, it does a poor job of explaining exactly which employers are covered by it. Clearly, it applies to any employer of a person licensed under federal or Pennsylvania law to provide medical or emergency services in the City of Philadelphia. This includes licensed psychologists, licensed social workers, and some nurses. It also applies to all staff working for an employer deemed to be a healthcare organization who conducts some business in , yet the Ordinance is silent on how to define a healthcare organization. With many social service agencies treading the line between healthcare and support, this inquiry is highly fact sensitive and requires an individual assessment of each agency's unique service offerings and employment roster.

Which Employees are covered by these Protections

Provided the employee works for a covered employer or is licensed to provide healthcare or emergency services. and they have worked at least 40 hours for the employer during the last three months, they are eligible for these protections. Note, that employees who telework from Philadelphia for a non-Philadelphia employer are also covered by this Ordinance. Theoretically, a new employee can work for a healthcare organization for only one full week and gain these protections. To make matters worse, the employee can contract COVID-19 while on vacation, during their personal time, or by knowingly exposing themselves to an infected person outside the workplace, and still be entitled to this protection.

To find out more about Philadelphia healthcare worker protections during a pandemic, or whether these expanded protections apply to your organization, contact us at 610 566 0711 or send us an email.