Speaking to reporters at the White House Friday, President Joe Biden vowed to move forward with a federal government mandate that private businesses with more than 100 employees require Wuhan coronavirus vaccinations.
"I’m moving forward with vaccination requirements wherever I can. These requirements will cover two thirds of all workers in America," Biden said. "So, please, do the right thing. Do the right thing. And I understand there's a lot of misinformation you've been fed out there, but try to look through. Get to people you trust, the people who have been vaccinated. Ask them."
Two weeks ago as the Afghanistan catastrophe continued to unfold, Biden announced the sweeping mandate. OSHA is reportedly writing a rule to enforce the mandate, but it hasn't been released.
"The Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is developing a rule that will require all employers with 100 or more employees to ensure their workforce is fully vaccinated or require any workers who remain unvaccinated to produce a negative test result on at least a weekly basis before coming to work. OSHA will issue an Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) to implement this requirement. This requirement will impact over 80 million workers in private sector businesses with 100+ employees," WhiteHouse.gov states.
A number of labor unions have pushed back on the mandate and some have sued.
"A group of federal workers and contractors filed suit against the U.S. government over its Covid-19 vaccination mandates," Bloomberg reports. "The lawsuit, filed in Washington Thursday, challenges President Joe Biden’s executive order earlier this month requiring federal workers to be vaccinated and the U.S. Defense Department’s August memorandum that members of the military must be protected against coronavirus."
Republican attorneys general are also looking at their options.
"The vaccines have helped protect millions of Americans, and there are surely others who could benefit from receiving this treatment. But convincing those who are hesitant to do so would require you to allow room for discussion and disagreement. Instead, you have offered the American people flimsy legal arguments, contradictory statements, and threatening directives. It is almost as if your goal is to sow division and distrust, rather than promote unity and the public’s health,” the recently wrote to the administration. "Your edict is also illegal."
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