What did president Biden’s covid vaccine mandate mean for the workplace?
If you were in the private sector and had fewer than 100 employees you were not affected by the new mandate, and could simply carry on.
However, in September the President directed the Labor Department through the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to require all businesses with 100 or more employees to ensure their workers are either vaccinated or tested once a week. This standard was a “minimum,” and some companies chose to go further.
The new rule, announced in September and currently taking effect, also requires covered employers to give their workers paid time off to get vaccinated. If companies don’t comply, they could face thousands of dollars in fines per employee. Enforcement is undertaken by OSHA, the same way they enforce other workplace safety rules with fines.
He also made the requirement for federal workers stricter. If you work for the feds, you are now required to be vaccinated, and no longer able to opt-out by weekly testing. In addition, if you are a contractor for the feds, or work in a hospital/nursing home that takes money from the feds through Medicaid/Medicare, you’re under the same requirement and must vaccinate if you want to stay employed.
Did president Biden overstep his authority by requiring vaccines from employers in the private sector?
I guess we’ll see. Soon after the mandate was announced, some governors said they would sue the administration and challenge it. But I doubt they’ll prevail, since the Occupational Safety and Health Act specifically provides for Emergency Temporary Standards (ETS) for employee safety. Plus, this isn’t new OSHA has been regulating against the workplace spread of airborne disease, since the 70’s.
In my opinion
This quasi-mandate with the test-out alternative for private business was actually welcomed by most employers many of whom had been reluctant to require the vaccine because it lacked FDA approval and there was no big push yet from the government and civil society. But now a majority of the population is vaccinated and the pressure is on those who have not yet gotten vaccinated. We are seeing more and more employers requiring the vaccine as a condition of employment -without the test-out alternative.
This online comment illustrates how this works. “My employer announced that vaccination is a condition of employment. The company website to report status has 4 options:
1) Already vaxxed,
2) In process,
3) Need accommodation
4) “I do not intend to get vaccinated by Nov 1 and realize my employment will voluntarily end on Nov 2.”
Lastly, the big fear that mandates would lead to mass resignations at airlines, hospitals and the public sector, did not materialize. Yes, there have been thousands of resignations and firings for refusal to vaccinate, but statistically, they are a small percentage of the workforce. The number of vaccinated workers has increased dramatically however, so I would say that mandates were the right move.
©Copyright Eva Del Rio. Send questions to eva@evadelrio.com
