Employers will eventually be able to require workers to get coronavirus vaccinations

Evan Dancy, an attorney who specializes in labor law, said employers can't require it now because the vaccines are available under an emergency use authorization and haven't been formally approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. But once they do get approved and are widely available, he said, an employer can make vaccination a condition of working there.

Still, Dancy said, employers should be prepared for challenges.

"Thirty percent of Americans have said that, if they were required to take a vaccine, they might leave their company," he said. "So, I think that should be a consideration for employers that, if they're going to make it mandatory, they might lose part of their workforce."

Yasmine White, chief executive of Voices Together, a Chapel Hill nonprofit that promotes learning through music therapy, said she plans to require her staff to be vaccinated.

"We are now in a stage where we're very much encouraging our staff to all get vaccinated," White said. "They go into schools, so we are going to ask for proof of vaccination. We are going to do that."

One of her employees, John Mitterling, said he has no problem with getting vaccinated as part of his job.

"I've gotten the first vaccine, and I'm going to get my second vaccine on April 5. I feel that we should all get it," Mitterling said.

Many employers, from retail chains like Target to manufacturers like tire-maker Bridgestone, are offering their workers incentives like added vacation days or a small bonus if they get vaccinated.

"I would say half of us have gotten the first shot or the [one-dose Johnson & Johnson] shot," Smith said. "All of my staff have been really open about wanting to get it. There’s a few exceptions. I’m going to talk to them case by case."

"My staff definitely wants to slow the spread of the virus, and they know this is a very good, easy way to do it," he said. "They want to be safe for themselves and their families."