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May 02, 2021 Issue: April 2021

Costa Rica - Can Employers Require Employees to Vaccinate?

By Alvaro Aguilar, Aguilar Castillo Love, Costa Rica, reprinted with permission from the Aguilar Castillo Love Newsletter.

Regarding the feasibility of a company asking its collaborators or potential job candidates to verify if they have been vaccinated against COVID-19, we must analyze it from various points of view, as different rights of a constitutional nature are in stake, such as public health, confidentiality of medical information, discrimination and medical self-determination, the latter underdeveloped in our country.

From a point of view of regulatory compliance with the country's health laws, both the General Health Law and the National Vaccination Law establish that any vaccine determined by the National Vaccination and Epidemiology Commission is mandatory for all people in the country. This law, as endorsed by the Constitutional Chamber, may be subject to exceptions, which could be of a medical nature and should be analyzed on a case-by-case basis.

The General Health Law provides that, at the request of any competent authority, the individual must present accreditation of the vaccines he or she has received.

In addition, this law establishes that people suffering from contagious diseases cannot enter the workplace.

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Alvaro Aguilar

Aguilar Castillo Love, Costa Rica

Reprinted with permission from the Aguilar Castillo Love Newsletter.