Employers are considering the importance of their employees getting vaccinated for COVID-19.

Employment attorney Gary Phelan, who is with Mitchell and Sheahan in Stratford, says employers can generally require their employees to get a COVID-19 vaccine with two exceptions.

He says if an employee has a disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act, the person may be exempt from a vaccine. The second exception is if someone has a seriously held religious belief.

Phelan says those individuals would have to request an accommodation.

"This is all new, and so I think providing information to your employees, utilizing or offering people for them to speak to people you know if they have any questions, I think goes a long way to encourage people to take it without necessarily threatening them to do so," Phelan says.

He says there could be backlash if employers require employees to get the vaccine, but he expects all front-line workers will have to get it.

According to a recent Pew Research study, only 51% of people said they would be willing to get a COVID-19 vaccine. This is down from 72% in May.

The state Department of Public Health says it's too soon to determine if employers can mandate that their employees get the vaccine.