It’s confusing on its best day. The construction industry is promoting COVID vaccine policies for all workers. But the Occupational Safety and Health Administration is mandating vaccinations, and that isn’t sitting well with many construction companies. Employees must vaccinate or prepare to test weekly by January 4, 2022.
OSHA’s COVID vaccine mandate would make all businesses with 100+ employees face fines for violations. The proposed maximum penalty is $13,653/violation and “willful or repeated violations” at $136,532 or less per violation.
Most opponents contend the OSHA vaccine mandate:
- Exceeds CMS’s (Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’) authority
- Violates 42 U.S. Code 1395; “…to exercise any supervision or control over the practice of medicine…”
- Violates APA (Administrative Procedure Act) and is “arbitrary and capricious” under the APA
- Violates the CRA (Congressional Review Act)
Construction industry-related organizations, including:
- American Road and Transportation Builders Association
- Associated General Contractors of America
- Signatory Wall and Ceiling Contractors Alliance
…filed a petition for OSHA to review the mandate. The contention is it will cause employers to lose employees in what is currently a labor shortage.
In addition to construction industry-related organizations, several states are filing suit. States protesting the mandate include:
- Alabama
- Alaska
- Arizona
- Arkansas
- Florida
- Georgia
- Idaho
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Kansas
- Louisiana
- Mississippi
- Missouri
- Montana
- Nebraska
- New Hampshire
- North Dakota
- Oklahoma
- South Carolina
- South Dakota
- Texas
- Utah
- West Virginia
- Wyoming
November 2021, Georgia governor Brian Kemp said the mandate is an unprecedented and unconscionable use of power by a president that will cripple Georgia’s economy. Georgia Agriculture Commissioner Gary Black said, “If the rule of law prevails, Georgia’s economy will be stable.”
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