Vaccination Incentivation: Staffer discusses employee pay incentive for the vaccine

Opening my paycheck from my job at the tennis pro shop at Mission Hills Country Club, I wasn’t expecting a note to come along with it. My employers were notifying me of the opportunity to receive monetary compensation for the time spent receiving and recovering from the COVID-19 vaccine.

President Joe Biden asked all employers to offer their workers paid time off for all those vaccinated after April 21, according to the American Association of Retired Persons. To encourage small businesses to provide this benefit, the internal revenue service is offering companies with fewer than 500 employees a tax credit to offset the time off workers are having to take.

Though many businesses have been assisting employees in receiving a vaccination for months now, Biden’s hope is that — specifically small businesses — will use the extra tax credit as an incentive to continue or begin encouraging vaccinations in their workplace, according to Bloomberg Law. 

One question posed from Bloomberg Law asked whether the pay incentive could be deemed as so enticing that they violate federal anti-discrimination laws. This potential violation brings up the question: Is providing bonuses discrimination against workers who can’t get the vaccine for medical or other preexisting limits?

I don’t have many teachers or friends that haven’t felt side effects — leaving them unable to work or attend school for a number of days. With such a high risk of side effects, I was worried about getting my vaccine, but knowing that companies are implanting extra pay makes me feel safer about getting it because it doesn’t make me worry about missing work if I am sick. 

It makes sense for businesses to encourage their employees to be vaccinated. I believe every small business should be taking advantage of the tax credit Biden is offering as it will push our community closer towards immunity.

Not only will it push the community closer to immunity, but it will help both workers and customers feel safer in stores, hopefully leading to full reopening in the future.

Since I’ve already had COVID-19, I didn’t see the need to receive the vaccine right away. I believe that extra pay encourages workers like myself who may not have been immediately incentivized to receive it, to get vaccinated, so they can help the community as a whole. The more people who get vaccinated the safer we will all be from COVID-19 and the closer we’ll be to normalcy in the United States.