Most Kansas City area businesses are not mandating COVID-19 vaccine, new survey shows

Most Kansas City area businesses are hesitant to implement vaccine mandates for their employees, according to a survey conducted by the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce.

Nearly 15% of businesses say they are instituting vaccine mandates for employees. About 85% of businesses have no such requirement.

A total of 184 Kansas City area businesses and organizations responded to the KC Chamber’s latest COVID-19 survey. Respondents represented large and small businesses and nonprofits from a variety of industries.

Some businesses said they have yet to make a decision regarding a mandate but are considering requiring vaccines.

The KC Chamber hosted a virtual event on Tuesday to share the results of the survey and help increase vaccination rates in the workplace.

Businesses with vaccine requirements said the safety of their employees and customers was the reason behind the mandate.

Truman Medical Centers/University Health made the decision in July to require all staff members be vaccinated for COVID-19, making it the first healthcare center in the Kansas City area to do so. All employees must be fully vaccinated by Sept. 20.

“We made a decision early on in this pandemic that we had to take on a leadership role, whether it was first to do a lot of testing, the first in the metro to give the vaccine,” said Charlie Shields, Truman president and CEO and a panelist at the KC Chamber’s virtual event. “Doing a mandate for our employees is consistent with that leadership role, and that’s the place we think we need to be and that’s where we’re going.”

The businesses without a vaccine mandate cited a variety of reasons for their decision — already-high vaccination rates, fears of losing employees amid hiring challenges, concerns about the legality of a mandate and insistence that vaccination is a personal choice.

A third of surveyed businesses are offering employees incentives to get vaccinated, including cash bonuses, additional vacation days and raffle drawings.

That’s the case at United Inner City Services, a nonprofit that runs three child care centers. Staff who opt to become fully vaccinated receive a $250 bonus. Those who do not get vaccinated have to get tested for COVID-19 on a weekly basis. The only exceptions are for those with medical documentation indicating they’re not able to be vaccinated.

Since implementing the vaccination policy, the number of vaccinated employees has doubled, said executive director Deidre Anderson, who also was a panelist at the Chamber’s virtual event.

“I just think it’s one of those things where knowing your why behind whatever policy is important,” Anderson said. “For us, it’s kids.”

Labconco Corporation, a local manufacturer of laboratory and scientific equipment, is also offering its staff incentives to get vaccinated, said chairman emeritus Steven Gound . Vaccinated employees can receive $100, half a day of paid time off or have Labconco match a $100 donation.

At American Century Investments, offices are open now only on a voluntary basis — and only to fully vaccinated employees.

“Our intention is that the entire workforce be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 to physically come into our facilities and that was really based on a sense of community and health and safety,” said Diane Gallagher, vice president and head of employee experience.

At the end of last week, 88% of employees at American Century were vaccinated, Gallagher said.

Almost half of respondents said their workplaces were already fully opened, the survey found. Nearly 9% are not reopening until 2022. About 29% are undecided about their reopening plans.

While most businesses are not requiring vaccines, they are requiring masks. About 78% of businesses require masks in the workplace.

This story was originally published August 31, 2021 at 1:34 PM.