The Biden vaccine mandate for large companies went into effect this week, despite ongoing litigation at the U.S. Supreme Court, leaving many large employers confused as to what they are supposed to do.
“As of Jan. 10, businesses with 100 or more employees were required to ensure that all employees have been fully vaccinated with either two doses of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines or one dose of Johnson & Johnson’s, and they must provide paid leave to workers getting the vaccine,” said the Epoch Times.
As an alternative, employers can test employees daily.
Joe Biden’s vaccine mandate is set to go into effect TODAY.
Don’t forget, Biden said he WOULD NOT do this.pic.twitter.com/ph5ZghjDxH
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) January 10, 2022
Employers are also required to keep vaccine databases for all employees, but some employers are already complaining that the mandate will create further staffing shortages for an economy that is struggling to add jobs.
“Hiring slowed significantly at the end of last year, a stark indication that employers are struggling to fill positions even as the United States remains millions of jobs short of prepandemic levels,” reported the New York Times.
The United States Postal Service asked for a waiver from the Biden vaccine mandate, saying that implementing the mandate could lead to delays of mail delivery.
“[R]equiring the Postal Service to absorb what could inevitably be a dramatic loss of employees at a time when the labor market is extremely tight and in the middle of the Postal Service’s Peak Season would have a potentially catastrophic impact on our ability to provide service,” said Deputy Postmaster General Douglas Tulino in a letter requesting the waiver, according to NBC News.
While the administration has said that they will delay any penalties against companies violating the mandate until Feb. 9, experts are warning that those delays aren’t written in stone.
“If there’s an egregious violation, I don’t think employers can rely on the promise that there will not be a citation,“ said Domenique Camacho Moran, an employment attorney at New York-based law firm Farrell Fritz P.C., according to the Hill.
“Employers need to take steps to immediately comply,” she added.
Employers are being encouraged to purchase tests, even though a shortage of tests is creating “sky high prices,” said the Epoch Times.
