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2024 Annual Public Policy Forum, December 4, 2024 REGISTER

Nearly six in 10 U.S. adults (57%) believe employees should be required to wear a mask when working at an on-site work location, even after being vaccinated for COVID-19, according to results from the latest American Staffing Association Workforce Monitor online survey conducted June 10–14.

Notably, 70% of Blacks/African Americans and 64% of Hispanics/Latinos believe employees should be required to wear a mask when working at an on-site work location, even after being vaccinated for COVID-19, compared with 50% of Whites/Caucasians.

Two-thirds of parents with children under 18 (65%) feel this way, compared with 53% of nonparents of minor children.

“While government officials are rolling back COVID-19 requirements throughout the country, many workers aren’t ready to give up their masks just yet,” said Richard Wahlquist, ASA president and chief executive officer. “As brick-and-mortar workplaces reopen, workers are anxious about being around their colleagues once again. Employers must clearly communicate what steps they are taking to make their workplaces safe for their employees as they reopen.”

The Workforce Monitor also uncovered a tension between the right to know about co-workers’ vaccine status and the right to privacy about one’s own status. While two in three U.S. adults (66%) believe employees have a right to know if their co-workers have been vaccinated against COVID-19, a majority (60%) also say their personal vaccine status is no one’s business but their own.

Read more here.