Get a Flu Shot, or Get Fired

That's what one Michigan hospital is telling its employees, volunteers, and students.

Munson Medical Center in Traverse City, and its parent companny, Munson Healthcare are requiring that all employees receive a flu shot by the end of the year, or be terminated. Volunteers, medical and nursing students must also comply.

Hospital officials claim that the practice sets a good example, and reduces the risk of passing the infection to patients and hospital personnel. Most will agree - but some employees are fighting back.

The Traverse City Record Eagle reports that about 50 people attended a recent meeting of Michigan Opposing Mandatory Vaccines, a Troy-based group that seeks to educate the public about vaccine choices.

So is this a civil rights issue? Although most would agree that a flu shot is good preventative medicine, does an employer have the right to fire employees that don't comply?