And at a dealer in Daphne, Alabama, nearly 30 employees, most of whom were not vaccinated, contracted COVID-19 within a week within a week in late July, WPMI News reported on July 29, “died of the disease in December,” is now offering vaccination incentives to employees, according to the broadcaster, the dealer has also set up weekly $ 1,000 draws for newly vaccinated customers and hosts Pfizer vaccine clinics on-site.
The National Automobile Dealers Association said last week it had its 14th recommendation and best practice suggestions “and could prescribe masks and vaccines if requested.
“We are closely monitoring the very changeable situation,” wrote NADA spokesman Jared Allen in an email.
Many traders are considering “less of a ‘carrot’ and more of a ‘whip’ approach to increasing their employees’ vaccination counts,” wrote Fisher Phillips in an Aug. 3 recommendation.
Still, Troutman told the company to Automotive News that dealers “seem less likely” to introduce vaccine mandates than companies in general. “We’re not seeing much in terms of vaccine mandates in the automotive industry,” said Troutman, chairman of the company’s national vaccine working group.
A recent informal survey of customers, which received more than 700 responses, found that “about 15 percent of employers overall” had issued or considered vaccine mandates, he said. Only 9 percent of automotive customers were of this opinion.
Even so, Troutman estimates that companies are generally more open to vaccine mandates than they have been in the past. He described a sense of frustration among businesses in general when COVID-19 resurfaced after it appeared to have receded.
Companies that are too relaxed about workplace arrangements are taking a risk. “We see [the Occupational Safety and Health Administration] Do more inspections out there, ”Troutman said. He noted that some companies have chosen to introduce COVID-19 testing for employees, a “middle ground” approach.
Private equity firm ZT Corporate, which owns nine dealers and plans to buy more, has initiated a vaccine mandate at its corporate facilities effective August 3, said CEO Taseer Badar.
The company announced on Aug. 6 that it is considering “expanding the mandate to all of its workforce in the coming months.” However, Badar said last week that ZT plans to be “a bit more ingrier” with dealer employees and likely offer training rather than mandate.
“As you know, the job market is dead,” said Badar.
While he estimated the majority of the company’s dealer workers were vaccinated anyway, he noted that some of the ZT stores are in rural areas where “education is urgently needed” to overcome resistance.
ZT plans to promote vaccination by using its healthcare stakes to set up a COVID-19 hotline that employees can use to get answers about the vaccinations, Badar said. The example of the corporate headquarters also helped. Badar said he has seen an increase in vaccinations in subsidiaries since the headquarters’s mandate was announced.
The company is encouraging the dealership’s staff but not asking for masks unless required by state and local law, he said.
The Nissan of Durango-related outbreak suggests that dealers should consider guidelines for both contract workers and full-time workers.
The deaths and most of the dozen infections have been linked to a group of independent contractors hired to drive vehicles for off-site sale, according to Nissan of Durango finance manager Warren Gutierrez.
