Last week, President Biden announced the deadline for his vaccine mandate on private employers with 100 or more workers, arguing that “businesses have more power than ever before to accelerate out path out of this pandemic, save lives, and protect our economic recovery.”
It turns out the Biden administration is considering whether it can get away with forcing vaccination on employers of all sizes.
According to a summary released by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, businesses with under 100 employees are being eyed as well.
OSHA is currently “seeking comment” on whether to impose a vaccine mandate on small businesses, too, though it is “less confident” such a mandate will work.
"OSHA is confident that employers with 100 or more employees have the administrative capacity to implement the standard’s requirements promptly, but is less confident that smaller employers can do so without undue disruption," the summary says. "OSHA needs additional time to assess the capacity of smaller employers, and is seeking comment to help the agency make that determination."
An OSHA spokesperson told Fox Business it is considering "whether to extend the rule to smaller firms in the public rulemaking that begins with the publication of this emergency rule."
The administration ought to take a clue from the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, which temporarily blocked Biden’s vaccine and testing mandate for private businesses on Saturday because “the petitions give cause to believe there are grave statutory and constitutional issues with the Mandate.”
The Court’s action not only halts Biden from moving forward with his unlawful overreach, but also commands the judicious review we sought. @POTUS will not impose medical procedures on the American people without the checks and balances afforded by our Constitution. #lagov #lalege
— AG Jeff Landry (@AGJeffLandry) November 6, 2021