HARRISBURG, Pa. — Nearly two months after the Biden administration announced vaccination requirements for large employers, they set a deadline. Companies with 100 or more employees must have a fully vaccinated workforce or have employees submit to weekly testing by Jan. 4, 2022.
The rule could affect up to 84 million workers.
U.S. Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh told FOX43 the mandate will help ease the current worker shortage by encouraging those who left the workforce during the pandemic to return.
“[The mandate is] creating a safe work environment and safe workplace for people that want to go back to work but maybe aren’t back in work,” Walsh said. “I think in a lot of ways this will incentivize people to go back to work, that section of the population that are afraid to go back to work because of the coronavirus.”
But business groups protested the mandate, arguing amid a widespread worker shortage it could hinder the hiring of new workers and even push some to quit their current jobs.
“To the extent that this rule accelerates that loss in the workforce, it’s a major problem,” said Gene Barr, president of the Pennsylvania Chamber of Commerce.
Companies that don’t comply with the mandate could face fines of $13,653 per violation.
Claiming the mandate poses an undue burden on businesses, more than three dozen Senate Republicans have already announced plans to file legal challenges.
“Most businesses took COVID serious from the get-go. They wanted to keep their employees and their customers safe,” said Sen. Mike Braun (R-Indiana). “Could be the biggest wallop that small businesses have taken in the whole journey.”
OSHA argues they have the right to pre-empt state and local laws to mandate vaccinations.
The mandate comes as the economy still hasn’t recovered from pandemic losses. Some employment agencies said the worker shortage was due to generous unemployment benefits, not vaccine requirements.
“That has not been an issue for my organization,” said Tyrone Miller, CEO of employment agency Lancaster Works. “Our issue has been with the actual recruiting because of individuals that would prefer to stay at home and make more at home than they could if they went to work.”
Federal employees have a separate vaccine mandate with an earlier deadline of Nov. 22.