US mandates COVID vaccines or tests for large companies by Jan. 4

Nevada businesses with 100 or more employees will need to have their workforces fully vaccinated against COVID-19 by Jan. 4 or require workers to take weekly tests under federal rules announced Thursday.

President Joe Biden first hinted at the new requirements in September when he said medium and large companies would need to mandate the vaccine or require weekly tests for the virus.

Jen Sarafina, partner at law firm Kamer Zucker Abbott in Las Vegas, said she’s not surprised about the move.

“I think governmental agencies are just trying to do whatever they can to try and get people back to work and get the number of COVID-19 positives and hospitalizations down,” said Sarafina, adding that it covers about two-thirds of the country’s workforce. “It’s not to say COVID doesn’t happen in companies with less than 100 people, but if we can start on this larger scale, there might be a trickle-down effect or slowing of this raging pandemic.”

The vaccine mandate will apply to about 84 million U.S. workers though it’s not clear how many are unvaccinated. And while Nevada businesses say they welcome the federal requirement, some feel the deadline is too soon.

“It’s a very truncated timeline in the middle of the busiest retail season of OVERSET FOLLOWS:the year,” said Bryan Wachter, Retail Association of Nevada’s senior vice president of government and public affairs. “Business owners are being pulled in so many different directions, and now to be put on top of being responsible for vaccines is just another additional layer.”

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration, which released Thursday’s guidelines, will force companies to require that unvaccinated workers test negative for COVID-19 at least once a week and wear a mask while in the workplace.

OSHA left open the possibility of expanding the requirement to smaller businesses. It asked for public comment on whether employers with fewer than 100 employees could handle vaccination or testing programs.

Tougher rules will apply to another 17 million people who work in nursing homes, hospitals and other facilities that receive money from Medicare and Medicaid. Those workers will not have an option for testing: They will need to be vaccinated.

Workers will be able to ask for exemptions on medical or religious grounds. The requirements will not apply to people who work at home or outdoors.

Hefty fines for any violation

It’s unclear how quickly companies must start their vaccination efforts as guidance from Nevada OSHA has not been released, according to Sarafina.

She said states such as Nevada have the option of either accepting the federal guidelines or creating their own version within 30 days if that version offers as much protection as the federal plan.

“What we’ve seen throughout the pandemic thus far is Nevada OSHA has actually included some additional requirements that is above and beyond that which is required on a federal level,” she said.

OSHA drafted the rules under emergency authority meant to protect workers from an imminent health hazard. The agency estimated that the vaccine mandate will save more than 6,500 worker lives and prevent more than 250,000 hospitalizations over the next six months.

Companies won’t be required to provide or pay for the tests, but they must give paid time off for employees to get vaccines and sick leave to recover from side effects that prevent them from working. The requirements for masks and paid time off for shots will take effect Dec. 5.

OSHA said companies that fail to comply with the regulations could face penalties of nearly $14,000 per violation.

It was unclear how OSHA planned to enforce the rules: Even counting allied regulators at the state level, the agency has only 1,850 inspectors to oversee 130 million workers at 8 million workplaces. A senior administration official said OSHA will target companies if it gets complaints.

Several Las Vegas casinos already took steps to require employees to be vaccinated, said Nevada Resort Association spokeswoman Dawn Christensen.

“Partnering with the state, the county and the Southern Nevada Health District, the resort industry has been tireless in its testing and vaccination efforts, offering on-site testing and vaccination clinics, pop-up community events, paid time off, incentives and more,” she said.

MGM Resort International required its salaried employees who did not work from home to be vaccinated by Oct. 15, later reporting more than 98 percent of its salaried workers were fully vaccinated. Westgate implemented a similar requirement and told the Review-Journal last month nearly all of its employees were vaccinated by its Oct. 15 deadline. Meanwhile, Resorts World requires COVID-19 vaccination as a condition of employment for all new hires.

Other companies with a large presence in Southern Nevada also have been pushing employees to receive a COVID-19 vaccine.

Smith’s spokeswoman Aubriana Martindale said in an emailed statement it has encouraged associates to get vaccinated.

“Since the beginning of the pandemic, we’ve worked across our stores, manufacturing sites and distribution centers to support a safe environment to work and shop,” Martindale said. “Associates who receive the manufacturer required number of doses are eligible to receive a one-time payment of $100.”

Pushback from GOP states

The number of new COVID-19 infections in the U.S. is still falling from a summer surge caused by the highly contagious delta variant, but the rate of decline has slowed in recent weeks. The seven-day moving average is down 6 percent from two weeks ago, at more than 76,000 new cases and 1,200 deaths per day.

Biden framed the issue as a simple choice between getting more people vaccinated or prolonging the pandemic. “While I would have much preferred that requirements not become necessary, too many people remain unvaccinated for us to get out of this pandemic for good,” he said Thursday in a statement.

The administration will face an immediate challenge from Republican state officials who are eager to fight Biden in court and in Congress. Senate Republicans immediately launched a petition to force a vote to overturn the vaccine mandate, but with Democrats controlling the chamber, the effort is nearly certain to fail.

More than two dozen Republicans serving as state attorneys general have indicated they plan to sue, arguing that only Congress can enact such sweeping requirements under emergency authority.

Biden said his encouragement for businesses to impose mandates and his own previous requirements for the the military and federal contractors have helped reduce the number of unvaccinated Americans over 12 from 100 million in late July to about 60 million now.

Those measures, he said, have not led to mass firings or worker shortages, adding that vaccines have been required before to fight other diseases.

Senior administration officials said the rules preempt conflicting state laws or orders, including those that ban employers from requiring vaccinations, testing or the wearing of face masks.

Last week, 19 states sued to stop Biden’s narrower mandate that employees of federal contractors be vaccinated. That requirement was scheduled to take effect Dec. 8, but the administration said Thursday it will be delayed until Jan. 4 to match the requirements on other large employers and health care providers.

For weeks, Biden has encouraged businesses not to wait for the OSHA rule to take effect. He has touted businesses that have already announced their own vaccine mandates and urged other companies to follow their lead.

Administration officials say those efforts are paying off, with about 70 percent of the nation’s adults now fully vaccinated.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.