Yesterday afternoon, President Biden announced new federal vaccine mandates expected to impact nearly 80 million Americans representing two-thirds of the American workforce. The mandate is aimed at combating the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. President Biden will direct the Department of Labor to issue a rule mandating that all businesses with 100 or more employees either require their employees to be fully vaccinated or require unvaccinated employees to receive mandatory weekly COVID-19 testing. The Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) will issue an emergency temporary standard to implement this requirement and may be the enforcing agency. Fines to businesses for non-compliance will be up to $14,000 for each violation. The plan also will include a rule requiring paid time off for employees to be vaccinated and to recover from any vaccination side effects.
We will continue to provide updates as additional information becomes available. The full Biden administration plan can be found here.
