Executive Decree: Mandatory vaccination against COVID-19 in Costa Rica

The President of the Republic and the Minister of Health have issued a decree, which is expected to be published in the Official Gazette in the following hours, which establishes the obligation of public sector employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19 for employees of the public sector, as well as the possibility for employers in the private sector, within their internal labor provisions, to choose to incorporate vaccination against COVID-19 as mandatory in their work centers. By the preceding, we recommend to employers that the following aspects be considered to implement the mandatory vaccination in the workplace:

• The employer must internally convey to employees through a directive or a labor policy, the obligation to vaccinate against COVID-19. The directive should be reviewed by those in charge of occupational health.
• Include in the provisions that data related to employees must and will be treated confidentially.
• All effort must be made to inform employees of this regulation so that they can comply with it.
• We recommended giving employees a minimum period of fifteen days, counted from the day the directive is released, to enable them to coordinate the steps to follow to complete their vaccination schedule.
• The public sector decree will enter into force as of October 15, 2021.

Employers will be empowered to apply disciplinary actions, including dismissal without employer responsibility, in those cases where failure to comply with the vaccination directive is without valid justification.

At BLP, we have a team that can assist you with the process. For more information contact us at [email protected] or +506 6280 2269 via WhatsApp, Telegram or Signal.