Dear CRONA nurses,

CRONA met with the Hospital to discuss the flu shot policy. As you know, the Hospital is purporting to require all employees to be vaccinated and previously sent a communication indicating that it might enforce the flu shot requirement through a policy “requiring leave without pay during flu season or during an outbreak.”

CRONA believes that as a matter of state law, nurses and other hospital employees have the statutory right to decline a flu shot, as long as the employee sets forth the declination in writing. See Cal. Health & Safety Code Section 1288.7. After meeting with CRONA, the Hospital has now agreed and clarified that CRONA nurses, will have two options. They may either receive a flu shot or complete the required declination form after completing the on-line Health Stream Influenza module. Thus, no nurse who does not wish to be vaccinated will be required to do so. This means that the Hospital will require leave without pay only for an employee who has declined a vaccination and also refused to complete the required declination form.

We have also emphasized to the Hospital that because nurses have a statutory right to decline the vaccination, the Hospital should not retaliate or take any adverse action against any nurse who exercises that statutory right.

We encourage nurses to take the flu shots.

If you have any questions about the flu shots, please email your manager and send a copy to crona@crona.org.

Lorie Johnson and the CRONA Executive Board