Jennifer Shinall

Professor of Law Vanderbilt University

  • Nashville TN

Expert in discrimination, particularly in the areas of gender and disability.

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Employment law expert on COVID-19 vaccine mandates

Jennifer Shinall, professor of law, is available for commentary on employer and federal COVID-19 vaccine mandates. Shinall is an expert in employment law and discrimination and can speak to: Employers' rights to mandate the COVID-19 vaccine and enforce it as a term of employment Historical precedence of vaccine mandates Exceptions companies should consider for the unvaccinated, including masks, social distancing and testing Considerations for employees who do not want to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, including lack of unemployment benefits if terminated

Jennifer Shinall

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Biography

Jennifer Bennett Shinall’s research focuses on discrimination, particularly in the areas of gender and disability. Her research, which has been published in peer-reviewed economic journals and law journals, examines how obesity, pregnancy and health status more generally affect labor market outcomes. Her work further considers how these effects may differ by gender and how the legal system can address any observed disparities. Professor Shinall was the first graduate of the Ph.D. Program in Law and Economics at Vanderbilt University. Before returning to Vanderbilt as a Postdoctoral Research Scholar in Law and Economics in 2013, Shinall was a clerk for Judge John Tinder of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. She earned an A.B. in economics and history at Harvard University and her J.D. and Ph.D. in law and economics at Vanderbilt Law School, where she served as senior articles editor for Vanderbilt Law Review and was elected to the Order of the Coif. Shinall teaches Employment Discrimination Law and Employment Law to J.D. students and also teaches Labor Markets and Human Resources and the Ph.D. Workshop for the Ph.D. Program in Law and Economics.

Areas of Expertise

Employer Rights
Workplace Rights
Gender
Discrimination
Disability
Worker Rights

Education

Vanderbilt University

Ph.D.

Law and Economics

Vanderbilt University

J.D.

Harvard University

A.B.

History and Economics

Selected Media Appearances

HR Departments Are Scrambling Over Abortion Travel Policies

New York Magazine  

2022-07-11

In late June, the largest professional human-resources organization in the country, SHRM, published an advisory on its website addressing best practices when it comes to managing abortion benefits; along with travel and tax issues, the notice addressed those liability risks. In states like Texas, where individuals are permitted to sue anyone who “aids and abets” an abortion after six weeks, an attorney predicted future litigation that might impact a firm offering benefits like these. Jennifer Shinall, a law professor specializing in labor and gender at Vanderbilt, expects to see laws specifically targeting these corporate-sponsored programs. In her home state of Tennessee, she says, “I very much expect for there to be a law that tries to penalize corporations” paying for abortion-related travel. At the very least, she would expect a prohibitively expensive fine.

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Thinking of permanently ditching the office? Here’s what to consider before going fully remote.

Washington Post  online

2022-01-27

Jennifer Shinall, professor of law at Vanderbilt University, says workers should also be upfront and ask whether there are any noncompete, nondisclosure or nonsolicitation agreements and for the terms.

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1.97 million Tennesseans potentially affected by President's COVID-19 vaccine mandate

NewsChannel 5  tv

2021-09-14

According to Vanderbilt Law Professor Jennifer Shinall, employers who willingly follow this mandate should feel protected.

"I think employers have such a compelling reason to mandate these vaccines because they want to stay open, because they want to protect themselves from liability and COVID-19 outbreaks in the workplace," Shinall said.

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