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Maine business leaders say they generally agree with the intent behind a new federal mandate on vaccines for many private companies, but some have questioned its potential effects on workers and employers. Or how it would even work.
Some expressed concern that the requirement places an undue burden of liability on business owners and that there is not enough information on the logistics of its implementation, while one of them argued that it violated the right of employees to make their own health care decisions.
President Biden announced Thursday that in an effort to stop the spread of COVID-19, all employees in companies with 100 or more workers must be vaccinated or have weekly tests to determine if they have the virus.
The requirement is expected to impact approximately 100 million American workers and will be enacted by an upcoming Occupational Safety and Health Administration rule that provides for penalties of $ 14,000 per violation. In Maine, about a third of the state’s workforce – about 170,000 workers in nearly 700 companies – would be subject to the new rule.
The rule applies to private sector employees, health care workers and federal contractors. Employers are required to provide paid time off for immunization. Federal employees will need to receive the vaccine and cannot choose to be tested instead.
A Willis Towers Watson Poll out of 1,000 U.S. companies published last week, found that just over half (52%) of companies planned to implement vaccination mandates by the end of 2021, but only 21% had them already in place, according to CNN.
Many employers in Maine have already encouraged their workers to get vaccinated – and about two-thirds of all Mainers have received at least one injection – but officials hope the new rule could be the last push for those who have. resisted.
That hope, the desire that as many people as possible be protected from COVID-19, is a hope that Dana Connors, executive director of the State of Maine Chamber of Commerce, can fully support.
“I have no questions or concerns about the intent,” he said on Friday. “My concern is that of implementation. “
There are still many unanswered questions, Connors noted, such as when this change will take effect, exactly how it will be applied, to whom companies should report the results, and how often.
It also adds a new level of liability for the roughly 700 or so businesses that will be affected, and requires more liability and accountability, he said, adding that a fine of $ 14,000 for a single violation is a penalty. important.
Since day one, business owners have gone above and beyond to do whatever they can to slow the tide of the virus, he said, so the tenure is “a little unexpected in light of everything. what they did, “especially for a while. fraught with workforce challenges.
“We know there are a number of people who just refuse to get the vaccine,” Connors said. “(Business owners) run the risk, on the one hand, of being an enforcer and potentially losing employees, and on the other hand, if they don’t comply and they don’t enforce , they are liable to a fine. … There is much more to discuss.
CONSECUTIVE UNKNOWNS
Kevin Hancock, CEO of Hancock Lumber, is also concerned that the tenure so far leaves too many questions unanswered.
If employees don’t want to be tested, should they be fired? Can they just be hung up? If they are made redundant because they will not be tested, can they still collect unemployment? Is there a statistical target, such as a national immunization rate of 80%? What if Maine achieves the goal, but another state lags behind? Does Maine still have to comply?
“I don’t think anyone has given any thought to the dynamics of this and how it’s actually going to play out,” Hancock said.
Hancock is not against the vaccine. He is vaccinated and encourages his approximately 600 employees to be vaccinated. This fall, the company is offering free on-site COVID-19 and flu shots to anyone who wants them.
Like “everyone on Earth,” Hancock said he was tired of the pandemic and wanted it to go away.
That said, he also “has a lot of respect for our employees as independent adults who are fully capable of making their own healthcare decisions,” he said.
Hancock Lumber has not counted who is vaccinated and has not asked employees to disclose this information. The tenure “will represent a pretty dramatic change” in the way they have handled operations so far, he said.
The company will comply, “that’s exactly what you are doing,” but Hancock said he had greater concerns about the consequences of compliance and the precedent it sets, calling it a “slippery slope” .
Like Connors, he’s worried that by creating two classes of businesses with two different sets of standards, employees could choose to leave for a business with fewer than 100 employees that isn’t subject to the same restrictions.
“Everyone has good intentions to help mitigate COVID,” Hancock said, but “intentions and results are not the same. “
Camden National Bank is taking a “wait and see” approach by waiting for more national guidance before making changes to its current immunization policy, said Renee Smyth, executive vice president and director of experience and marketing.
The bank has so far been flexible with its roughly 650 employees, strongly encouraging vaccines but not obliging them. Workers started returning to the office this week, with many hybrid or remote schedules still working. The company has an immunization reporting rate of around 70 percent.
With the new tenure, weekly testing is the biggest concern, Smyth said, but she hopes there will be more information in the coming days.
Biden said the government will work to increase the supply of virus tests and that the White House has secured concessions from retailers such as Walmart, Amazon and Kroger to sell home test kits at cost from this week, but more detailed information has not been distributed.
Camden National isn’t the only company trying to navigate the new set of rules.
SUPPORT BUT CONFUSED
Officials at the University of Maine, which has about 4,500 full-time equivalent employees, are waiting to see if, as a public university, the mandate even applies to them.
Chancellor Dannel Malloy said university officials “are trying to understand the implications of what the president said and be prepared to live by it.”
Either way, Malloy would love to see faculty and staff fully immunized – and they’re on the right track with an immunization rate of over 80%.
“The meaning that everyone should get vaccinated is absolutely correct,” he said, noting that the majority of deaths from COVID-19 are among those who are not vaccinated.
Students on campus must be vaccinated by October 15, but at this time, this requirement does not apply to staff. Discussions with the school’s seven employee groups are ongoing and Malloy is “hoping for an agreement.”
“In the meantime,” he said, “we are seeking further guidance from OSHA and the administration (Biden) and (we) support the view that everyone should be vaccinated.”
Other large employers, including Bath Iron Works, Central Maine Power, Covetrus, Unum and LL Bean, declined to elaborate on their current vaccination policies or share their thoughts on the mandate, but said they were committed to follow local and federal guidelines to keep employees and customers safe.
Others, like MaineHealth, the state’s largest private employer, the City of Portland, Bowdoin College and Bangor Savings Bank, had already pledged to enforce policies similar to the rule imposed by Biden, whether through state mandate or by choice.
Governor Janet Mills announced last month that all healthcare workers in Maine must be vaccinated against COVID-19. However, Mills’ requirement does not apply to many medical providers in the state.
Soon after, Portland city officials elected to adopt a similar requirement, requiring city staff to either receive a vaccine or undergo weekly testing. The rule applies to approximately 1,000 city employees.
Portland was the first municipality in Maine and one of the first in the country to announce the requirements.
Bowdoin College and Bangor Savings Bank were the first leaders in immunization policies – Bowdoin was the first college in the state to require vaccines for students and staff, and in March, Bangor Savings offered $ 500 to one of the approximately 1,100 employees who have been fully immunized. Then, early last month, he announced that all new hires should be vaccinated and that any unvaccinated employee would be tested weekly.
Biden’s broad vaccination tenure has met with mixed reviews from members of the Maine congressional delegation, but according to spokesman Lindsay Crete, Mills has been broadly supportive.
“The governor agrees with the president that the vaccine is the most effective tool to stem this tide, save lives and end the pandemic, and she shares her desire to see more people vaccinated,” Crete said in a statement. “We are also delighted that the Biden administration agrees with Maine’s assessment that it is essential to immunize health workers because of the role they play in protecting the health of the people of Maine.”
Nationally, not all heads of state felt the same. The Washington Post reported that the governors of at least three states – Florida, Georgia and Texas – have pledged to sue, citing unconstitutional violations of individual freedoms.
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