Hawaii Chamber of Commerce: Honolulu Star Advertiser: Hawaii Coronavirus Vaccine Mandates Increase Employee Compliance Compliance, Survey Shows

October 17, 2021

Over 60% of Hawaiian companies require their employees to be vaccinated or tested against COVID-19 – and more than 84% say they have employees who have been vaccinated.

A survey of 1,987 companies conducted in late September by the University of Hawaii Economic Research Organization highlights anecdotal experience of some companies since the new Safe Access O’ahu mandates came into effect on September 13, along with government vaccination and testing regulations for government buildings and property, and President Joe Biden’s request that US companies with 100 or more employees require employees to be vaccinated.

The UHERO survey found that 70.5% of island companies support employee mandates, 17.5% are against and 11.8% are unsure.

“The overwhelming reasons companies support the mandate are to protect the community, reduce the spread of COVID-19, protect employees, increase work safety and protect customers,” said UHERO. “One of the reasons or obstacles companies do not support the mandate is the belief that it is illegal and / or unconstitutional due to opposition from employees and personal preference of the employer.”

The survey also found that:

>> On Oahu, 85.1% of private sector workers were vaccinated prior to vaccination assignments, followed by another 8.2% who were vaccinated after vaccination assignments. An estimated 5.9% of Oahu business workers prefer regular testing, and 1.7% of employees have either quit or been fired for not getting vaccinated or tested.

“Based on the survey results and the recent surge in vaccinations, we concluded that vaccination regulations were effective in increasing COVID-19 vaccination in Hawaii,” UHERO said in its study.

>> Of the total companies that have test or vaccination obligations, 35.1% recorded a decrease in the number of customers; 8.2% saw an increase; 39.5% recorded a decline in sales; and only 7% saw sales growth, according to the survey.

>> About 25.2% of companies reported greater “customer resistance and complaints” while 7.8% said customer complaints had decreased.

>> “Almost 2 out of 3 companies (61.75%) support vaccination records for customers, 22.2% of the companies do not support vaccination certificates, while 15.9% are unsafe,” said UHERO. “The reasons companies support vaccination records for customers mirror those of mandates for employees. One of the main reasons or barriers companies may not support the customer mandate is customer opposition and the belief that it is not their company’s responsibility in addition to employee vaccine mandates. “

>> More than half of island companies – 54.48% – want to take home funding for COVID-19 tests for employees; 48.5% said they needed technical assistance in checking vaccination and testing status; and 36.9% and 38.77%, respectively, requested training resources for both employees and customers.

The drop in sales noted by UHERO is consistent with the overall experience of Retail Merchants Hawaii members, said President Tina Yamaki.

As COVID-19 numbers rose from the Delta variant, Governor David Ige made nationwide news in August by urging visitors to stay away at least until the end of October. Visitor numbers – and sales – then began to decline before Labor Day.

“We’re still waiting for this Asian visitor to come back, the foreign visitors – not necessarily the domestic ones. They’re the more budget-conscious travelers who aren’t really spending the money, ”said Yamaki. “Even locally, people shop more online on every island.”

Therefore, Yamaki is pleased that UHERO has found overwhelming support from the companies for mandates and employee vaccinations.

“As we move forward into our Super Bowl season, our holiday season, we want to make sure shopping is safe,” she said. “We still have to wear masks indoors and keep social distance. We still clean all high-touch areas and keep a plastic screen between the checkout and the customer. It’s very safe to come in.”

COVID-19 changes and orders come on top of other business problems, such as a national and local shortage of qualified applicants and a global supply chain problem that has resulted in a shortage of a wide range of products.

The shortage of car chips and the general shortage of new car inventory are particularly problematic for Hawaii’s auto dealers, said Nick Cutter, vice president of Cutter Management Co.

His family owns nine cutter dealerships on Oahu.

“We are well staffed,” he said. “The vast majority of our employees are vaccinated. There are some here and there who don’t, but we keep talking to them and encouraging them.”

Both customers and employees are required to wear masks in Cutter’s showrooms.

The bigger problem, said Cutter, is that “our company has the lowest inventory we have ever had. Demand is pretty strong, but the entire industry is way off.”

The UHERO survey results track similar surveys conducted by the Hawaii Chamber of Commerce during the pandemic.

“Initially, when there were discussions about mandating vaccines in the workplace, companies were reluctant to implement a mandate because they did not know how and what impact it would have,” said Chamber CEO and President Sherry Menor-McNamara.

The 8% increase in employee vaccinations reported by UHERO is therefore encouraging, she said.

“Whether it’s 8% or 10% as long as it keeps going up, that’s a good thing,” said Menor-McNamara. “We are definitely going in the right direction.”

This news release was prepared by the Hawaii Chamber of Commerce. The views expressed here are your own.