Employees saw a shift this week in workplace vaccine requirements. Continuing Coverage: Coronavirus in WisconsinPreviously, many companies opted for encouraging or incentivizing the vaccine. This week companies like Ascension, ProHealth and the Medical College of Wisconsin all mandated the vaccine for employees."I think because we've seen a plateau in the number of people getting the vaccine and we’ve seen this new delta variant causing increases in caseloads, more employers are considering mandating to be able to continue operations," said Sarah Platt, an employment attorney at Ogletree Deakins. Platt told WISN 12 legally nothing changed. Companies are allowed to require the COVID-19 vaccine. There are exceptions. By law, employers cannot mandate vaccination if there are disabilities or religious beliefs involved."Aside from those exceptions, yes, employers can," Platt said. "And it’s not a super new concept. Other vaccines have been required for a long time."The Medical College of Wisconsin President and CEO Dr. John Raymond told WISN 12 on UPFRONT that vaccination is required. Employees will need it in order to keep their job at MCW."We hope we don’t reach that point but when we implemented mandatory vaccination about seven years ago we actually did have two individuals who ended up separating from MCW," Raymond said.The new mandates aren't just in the healthcare industry."The tech industry in Silicon Valley this week had several big companies come put with mandates," Platt said. "And we’re getting questions from across the board in different employers who are thinking about it."Platt said major entities taking the first step toward mandates could open the door for middle-tier businesses to follow along."We’re not reinventing the wheel here, the law on it isn’t new, it’s just one where it’s gotten in the front of mind for the country," she said.Platt also explained there are two major concerns clashing in client surveys. Vaccine mandates and the workforce shortage. She said employers could be hesitant to tell employees they can no longer work for them without the vaccine, since it's already difficult to find workers.Platt said if employers are considering mandating vaccines, they should have a plan in place."I think employers need to have the administrative systems in place to process requests for exceptions because those do exist, there are legitimate reasons people may not be able to or have sincere reasons for not getting the vaccine," she said. "Then I think also thinking about tensions that might arise in the workplace from the way people feel about this issue."WISN 12 reached out to Froedtert Hospital and Advocate Aurora Health to see if they've adopted similar policies. Aurora said it is not yet mandatory. Froedtert said it is in the final stages of considering making it a requirement.Sign up for coronavirus email alerts from WISNGet breaking news alerts with the WISN 12 app.Follow us: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube