Unvaccinated People May Be Facing A Monthly Fee From Their Employers. Here’s What We Know.

Vaccinated individuals have been experiencing all kinds of benefits from their employers for breaking down and getting that shot.

They have been getting anything from days off of work, to gift cards, to actual cash incentives.

Well, now, the unvaccinated are getting a special surprise from their employers.

Yep, those who have decided to forego the injection are facing the possibility of actually paying a surcharge of $20 to $50 per month, and it’s going to be garnished right from their paychecks.

You can liken this monthly fee to smokers who have to dish up an additional fee per month for an unhealthy lifestyle.

Covid-19 can lead to serious illness and an expensive hospital stay that costs the worker and company-paid insurance, triggering premium increases as well.

Forbes

This news comes straight from Mercer, the employee benefits consulting company that works with employers from around the world.

Now, Mercer hasn’t disclosed which businesses are in talks to charge this healthy-lifestyle fee, but they are saying that it will range from $20 to $50 out of people’s monthly paychecks.

Employers have tried encouraging employees to get vaccinated through offering incentives like paid time off and cash, but with the Delta variant driving up infections and hospitalizations throughout the country – at the same time that vaccination rates have stalled – we have received inquiries from at least 20 employers over the past few weeks who are giving consideration to adding health coverage surcharges for the unvaccinated as a way to drive up vaccination rates in their workforce.

Wade Symons, regulatory resources group leader at Mercer

There is beginning to be an influx of employees back into the physical workspace, as they have been working remotely since the pandemic started.

Companies are more concerned than ever, especially with the Delta variant going around, that employees in such close proximity could potentially become a COVID nightmare.

There are some big businesses (like Google and Facebook) that are going to REQUIRE that all employees to be vaccinated.

Other companies are holding off on this mandate, for fear that it could cause an employee relations uprising.

BUT, they are looking for other ways to coax their employees into getting fully vaccinated.

That is why this monthly vaccination surcharge is becoming a really viable possibility.

So, get the stick or get the fee, that is what a lot of businesses are about to proclaim.