Poll question: Vax mandates

The new OSHA rules for employee Covid vaccinations and testing are out – all 500 pages of them.

Under a new Biden Administration emergency temporary standard, employers with more than 100 employees have until Jan. 4 to mandate Covid vaccines or tests for their employees.

There are some exceptions. For instance, the rule doesn’t apply to remote workers, or those who work entirely outdoors.

[Read more about the new regulations at “This just in: OSHA and employee testing.”]

The sweeping new rules have generated controversy and the ire of various business groups, which object to excessive costs and an exasperated labor situation. 

The National Retail Federation voiced its opposition: “Since the president’s announcement of the vaccine mandate for private industry, the seven-day average number of cases in the United States has plummeted by more than half,” it wrote. “Nevertheless, the Biden administration has chosen to declare an emergency and impose burdensome new requirements on retailers during the crucial holiday shopping season.”

(Read the full statement here.)

At the other end of the spectrum, the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union wrote: “Too may essential and frontline workers’ lives continue to be on the line in this pandemic, and having a standard to protect workers across the board is critical.”

How do you feel about the new rules? Take the poll below. And tell us what you think here.