This luxury South Beach condo is mandating vaccines for employees, contractors

A South Beach condominium is requiring all of its employees and contractors to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 by Nov. 15.

Continuum, a resort-style luxury oceanfront condominium with two towers in Miami Beach’s South of Fifth neighborhood, is mandating the vaccine to help keep its staff, visitors and more than 500 residents safe from COVID-19, said the property’s managing director, Rishi Idnani.

The Continuum’s Master Association Board of Directors made the decision after consulting with its legal counsel and reviewing the COVID-19 information that was available through medical experts and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“Not only do we have our residents that we truly care about and want to provide the highest level of safety and comfort to them and their guests, but we also have a substantial majority of our employees who are vaccinated and for them, they want to work in an environment where they feel safe,” Idnani said.

Condo officials believe they have the right to mandate the vaccine because Florida’s vaccine passport ban still lets private employers require workers to get vaccinated, at least for now. Gov. Ron DeSantis on Thursday suggested that the state might have to consider passing a law to prevent businesses from imposing employee vaccine mandates.

That type of law would put it in conflict with the Biden administration’s plans to require employers with more than 100 workers to mandate vaccinations or weekly testing. The mandate is expected to be issued in the coming days. DeSantis has vowed to sue the administration over the mandate.

For now, Continuum’s mandate will affect more than 200 employees, including vendors whose workers frequently walk, interact or work in common areas such as the elevator, the hallways and the garage, Idnani said.

This includes workers who provide pest control, irrigation, landscaping, plumbing and mechanical services to the condo as well as any contractors working on a construction or renovation project on the property at 100 South Pointe Dr.

What about workers who are at the condo to drop off furniture or fix someone’s faulty sink? Food delivery?

Idnani said the condo would like to create some type of “compliance check” but that officials are still brainstorming on what to do in these types of situation. The mandate does not affect people employed by residents, such as housekeepers and nurses, though the condo is strongly recommending that they get vaccinated.

Under federal law, the Continuum will also still have to make accommodations for people who cannot get the vaccine because of a disability or a religious belief, practice or observance.

Can the boss require workers to get a COVID-19 vaccine? There are rules in Florida

The vaccine mandate is a next step for the condo, which since the spring has been partnering with Mount Sinai Medical Center in Miami Beach and Pure Pharmacy, a local pharmacy in the area, to help schedule vaccination appointments for its residents, their extended families and frequent visitors, such as nurses and housekeepers.

Idnani said the condo’s concierge team handled vaccinations like they were trying to make a reservation for an exclusive restaurant. Employees called appointment hotlines and scoured social media and websites for booking availability. Once an appointment was confirmed, the team would send residents a calendar invite and reminders to ensure they wouldn’t miss their vaccination.

The vaccination initiative was a success. So far, more than 550 residents who reside in the condo’s towers have been vaccinated, Idnani said. Many got the shot through the concierge team’s services.

Continuum’s homeowner association hopes its decision to mandate vaccines encourages other residential communities in South Florida to follow suit. It also joins a string of other employers that have begun to mandate vaccinations, including Disney, American Airlines and Facebook. Some South Florida restaurants, hospitals and universities are too.

Now that COVID vaccine boosters are here, will life go back to normal? What to expect