Vaccine Response—OSHA Mandate
Vaccine Response—OSHA Mandate
During his first 100 days in office, President Biden prioritized vaccinating as many Americans as possible. One of his first executive orders required the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to issue new COVID-19-related guidance and to consider whether any emergency temporary standards were needed to protect workers.
Months later, OSHA issued a requirement that employers with 100 or more employees mandate that all their employees be fully vaccinated no later than January 4, 2022, or implement a policy allowing for weekly testing.
NACS members are not anti-vaccine and support their employees becoming vaccinated and have offered incentives and paid time off for vaccinations. “NACS members have a strong incentive to encourage a vaccinated workforce and they do so,” said Lyle Beckwith, NACS senior vice president of government relations, adding, that some NACS “members expect that they will have many employees quit their jobs rather than receiving vaccinations against their will.”
NACS challenged the OSHA ruling on behalf of our members, ensuring your voices were heard.
In opposition to the rule, NACS joined with nearly a dozen state and national trade associations in suing OSHA over its proposal. On January 7, 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments on two legal challenges brought by NACS and multiple states regarding the OSHA’s rule.
On January 13, the Supreme Court blocked enforcement of the OSHA rule for private employers—a significant win for our industry and private businesses.
This is an important recognition that the OSHA rule is too broad,” said Doug Kantor, NACS general counsel. “Businesses are doing their part to promote vaccination and safety practices. We appreciate the Supreme Court recognizing that OSHA should not push regulatory requirements that cannot be met and will exacerbate the labor shortage.”
By late January, OSHA withdrew its vaccine mandate rule for large employers.
NACS convenience retail members weighed in on OSHA’s proposal and their voices were heard by the Supreme Court. A survey conducted by NACS Research found that 99% of the industry expects that some employees would quit their jobs rather than undergo COVID-19 vaccination.
The survey also found that:
58% would need to close one or more stores
89% of employers in the industry would be forced to reduce store hours
72% would need to reduce cleaning at one or more stores
57% would expect increased difficulty getting products to their stores
47% would expect reduced customer traffic
93% would face increased difficulty hiring staff
NACS convenience retail members weighed in on OSHA’s proposal and their voices were heard by the Supreme Court. A survey conducted by NACS Research found that 99% of the industry expects that some employees would quit their jobs rather than undergo COVID-19 vaccination.
The survey also found that:
89% of employers in the industry would be forced to reduce store hours
58% would need to close one or more stores
72% would need to reduce cleaning at one or more stores
57% would expect increased difficulty getting products to their stores
47% would expect reduced customer traffic
93% would face increased difficulty hiring staff