Purpose 

Throughout the pandemic, MICA’s guiding principles have prioritized the health and safety of our community. Vaccinations have been proven to significantly reduce the risk of illness or death from infectious diseases, such as COVID-19 and influenza. The College, therefore, is adopting this vaccination policy to ensure the health and safety of our employees, their families, our students, and the MICA community as a whole. This policy will comply with all applicable laws and is based on guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and local health authorities, as applicable.

Scope

Regular Access: All employees who have a regular on-campus work schedule including those with defined telework agreements are required to receive a US-based COVID-19 vaccination & booster (Pfizer, Moderna, or Johnson & Johnson) AND a FDA-approved influenza vaccination, unless a reasonable accommodation has been granted. (See Reasonable Accommodations below). Non-compliance with this policy may lead to denial of access to MICA’s property and electronic resources and/or progressive discipline. 

Fully Remote: Any employee who is working in a fully remote capacity and/or accessing campus only for limited,  non-regular engagements will not be required to comply with the vaccination requirements as outlined above, but will be required to adhere to MICA’s On-Campus Visitation Policy, which will be published shortly.

 

Reasonable Accommodation

MICA considers the following types of vaccination accommodations / exemptions reasonable:

1. A medical condition 
2. A sincerely held religious belief 

Accommodations will be granted where they do not pose a direct threat to the health and safety of others. Employees receiving accommodations may be required to take additional health and safety measures before or during on-campus visitation.

Procedures

Employees will be required to provide either proof of approved COVID-19 and Influenza vaccination (see Scope above) or an approved reasonable accommodation before the relevant declared deadlines.  All employees will be paid for time taken to receive vaccinations. Employees are to work with their managers to schedule an appropriate time to comply with this policy.

To provide proof of vaccination or approved exemption:

• A provider certification or CDC-issued vaccination card, which includes the vaccination date(s) and vaccine name, must be uploaded to WorkDay.

• An approved reasonable accommodation must be uploaded to WorkDay.

• A short instructional video on how to do this can be viewed here or instructions are available here.

To Request an Exemption

You may request an exemption to the COVID-19 vaccination or Influenza vaccination (during Flu season only) requirement for one of the following reasons:   

1.  A medical reason 
2. A sincerely held religious belief, practice or observance that prohibits vaccination

If you are granted an exemption, you will not be required to be vaccinated. MICA may, at its discretion, require you to take other measures to reduce the risk of COVID-19 transmission and flu transmission during flu season.

To request an exemption, you must complete and submit the Exemption Request Form along with supporting documentation, if required, to the Office of People, Belonging & Culture. Your request will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis. 

Medical Exemption Request Process

When requesting a medical exemption from vaccination, you must submit a completed Exemption Request Form, along with a completed Medical Provider Certification Form, signed by your primary healthcare provider. If necessary, you may be asked to sign a Release of Information form to allow further discussion with your healthcare provider. Requests for exemptions from the COVID-19 and Flu vaccines must be made separately.

Religious Exemption Request Process

When requesting a religious exemption, you must submit the completed Exemption Request Form along with a statement describing your current religious belief or practice that prevents you from receiving the COVID-19 or flu vaccine, whichever applies, or both. 

Your statement should explain your religious belief, establish that it is your sincerely held religious belief, and explain in what ways receiving the vaccination conflicts with your sincerely held religious belief, practice or observance. This may include a statement published by the religious body describing the current religious belief or practice that prevents you from receiving the vaccine.