President Biden Announces New Federal COVID Vaccine Mandate For Private Companies
WASHINGTON (CBS News) — President Biden announced the most sweeping COVID-19 vaccine requirements yet on Thursday, including a requirement that all employees at companies with at least 100 employees be vaccinated or undergo regular testing. The White House estimates that change alone will affect more than 80 million workers.
"My job as president is to protect all Americans. So tonight, I'm announcing that the Department of Labor is developing an emergency rule to require all employers with 100 or more employees that together employ over 80 million workers to ensure their workforces are fully vaccinated or show a negative test at least once a week," the president said, noting that many large companies are already requiring vaccinations. "...The bottom line — we're going to protect vaccinated workers from unvaccinated coworkers."
The Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration is developing a rule requiring all employers with at least 100 employees to make sure their workforce is fully vaccinated or require unvaccinated workers to get a negative test at least once a week. OSHA will issue an Emergency Temporary Standard to introduce the vaccine requirement. Companies that fail to comply could face fines of $14,000 per violation.