The US Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) implemented a new rule on Thursday which requires tens of millions of Americans working at medium or large companies to be either vaccinated or tested weekly by January 4.
What do we know about the policy?
The rule applies to staff at companies with more than 100 employees. The mandate will also target health care workers and those employed at federal contractors.
It’s unclear how OSHA will enforce the mandate. Companies could be hit with a $14,000 (€12,105) fine per violation.
The rules were first announced by President Joe Biden in September. The Biden administration is hoping to boost vaccination rates after the delta variant of the coronavirus surged in the US this summer.
Yet, the mandate could face backlash from conservative Republicans. A group of Republicans in the Senate, led by Mike Braun of Indiana, are attempting to overturn the rule.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, a Republican and ally of former President Donald Trump, is also suing the Biden administration over rules requiring employees of federal contractors.
wd/nm (AP, AFP)
Article source: https://www.dw.com/en/us-biden-administration-sets-january-vaccine-deadline-for-big-companies/a-59720373?maca=en-rss-en-all-1573-rdf