Nearly Half Of States Say They Will Fight Federal Vaccine Mandate

As Connecting the Dots reported in September, President Joe Biden asked the Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) to develop an Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) that will require all businesses with 100 or more employees to either ensure their workforce is fully vaccinated or to require workers who remain unvaccinated to produce a negative COVID-19 test at least once a week.

The White House reportedly is in the midst of reviewing OSHA’s proposal, which means the mandate could be issued very soon. (The ETS will be go into effect as soon it is published in The Federal Register.)

Several governors, including the leaders of Florida and Texas, have pledged to find ways to oppose the mandate. Additionally, the attorneys general of 24 states have sent a letter to President Joe Biden saying they would “seek every available legal option” to block the administration’s proposed rule. The attorneys general, all Republicans, said the plan would be “disastrous and counterproductive” and could lead to employees leaving the workforce. Read the letter here.

Like many business trade associations, including the National Association of Manufacturers and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, MSCI has not taken an official stance on the mandate since businesses themselves seem largely divided on the issue. MSCI is committed to educating its members on the mandate once it is issued and to keeping members up-to-date on any legal action. Stay tuned to Connecting the Dots for information and be on the lookout for information about a free, one-hour webinar that will provide a detailed analysis of the ETS.

In the meantime, the law firm Kelley Drye has advice here for U.S. employers who are moving ahead with vaccine mandates of their own, regardless of what the federal government imposes.