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The new federal vaccine requirement announced by President Joe Biden has created another worry for large companies: With the help sought almost everywhere, some could lose valuable employees or be unable to find new ones.
Biden announced massive new orders On Thursday, that will force employers of more than 100 workers to impose COVID-19 vaccinations or offer weekly testing. The new rules could affect up to 100 million Americans, although it is not clear how many of those people are currently unvaccinated.
Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics, says the vaccines mandate could go a long way in boosting the economy.
“The evidence across countries is that more vaccinations mean fewer infections, hospitalizations and deaths, which in turn means a stronger economy,” he said.
But even those who are in favor of Biden’s move as a way to prevent the coronavirus from spreading further fear that workers opposed to the vaccination will quit or that job seekers will not apply for their vacancies. Some workers may also move to smaller businesses where hitting the arm is not necessary.
“In a tight market, it’s very difficult to find employees, let alone keep our current employees,” said Jonathan Chariff, CEO of South Motors, a group of 12 auto dealers in the Miami-Ft area. Lauderdale area with over 1,100 workers. “It’s easy for them to look for other work elsewhere.
Certainly, the tenure might make some employees more comfortable working with others in tight spaces. Indeed, Chariff said his company supports Biden’s decision and wants to make sure all workers are vaccinated to keep them safe, especially after two employees died from the virus. However, the company decided not to require them due to the labor shortage. Right now, Chariff has 80 to 100 openings.
Karl Wadensten, CEO of Richmond, Rhode Island-based VIBCO Vibrators, was an early adopter of masks, weekly virus tests, and temperature checks in his manufacturing business and encouraged vaccinations, but fears to lose employees if he forced them to get the hang of it.
Wadensten, whose company makes industrial vibrators used in dump trucks and other applications, said Friday he expected more clarity on what Biden’s orders will mean for his company, which has a small number of government contracts. Its workforce fluctuates just above and below 100 employees, of which about 85% are vaccinated.
“For those remaining 15%, it would be detrimental to their beliefs and values that they hold,” he said.
Conversely, small businesses see the exemption as an advantage. Like other companies, Alan Dietrich, CEO of Crater Lake Spirits in Bend, Oregon, is facing a staff shortage. He has 36 workers, with an immediate need for two or three more.
“Being excluded from the mandate is useful for hiring,” he said. “We still find that a small but significant number of people in our area are reluctant to get vaccinated, and the staff are so difficult that even one person is important to us.”
On the flip side, he said, the company is more susceptible to slowdowns or shutdowns due to positive tests. But an Oregon statewide mask warrant “certainly helps keep our staff safe,” he said.
The Associated Press has contacted a wide range of businesses since Thursday’s announcement. Many, like General Motors and Ford, have said they favor vaccines but are analyzing the executive order. Others noted that they already require vaccinations.
Walmart, the country’s largest private employer, was one of the first major companies to force vaccines on workers at its headquarters in Bentonville, Arkansas, and its executives traveling to the United States must be vaccinated against COVID-19 by October 4. But it excludes frontline workers such as cashiers, who the company says have a lower vaccination rate than management.
The tech industry has been largely at the forefront of vaccine requirements, making the industry in general a likely supporter of Biden’s policies on the issue. At the end of July, Google became one of the first large American employers to decide that all of its employees should be vaccinated before returning to the office. Facebook quickly adopted a similar policy hours after Google took its tough stand on vaccines.
Angela B. Cornell, a clinical professor at Cornell Law School who focuses on employment law, said the mandates are a positive step for companies.
“This change will make it much easier for employers to push people who have been on the fence or opposed,” she said.
Businesses will not have to worry about being sued, as this is a mandate of the government and not the employer, she said.
According to Biden’s order, the millions of executive employees and contractors who do business with the federal government will not be able to get tested instead of taking the vaccine. The ordinance also obliges large companies to provide paid vacations for vaccination.
Those who don’t work for federal contractors and are afraid of the vaccine may opt for weekly testing instead, but many people who are simply hesitant are more likely to get the vaccine, said Dorit Reiss, a professor at the University of California Hastings College. of the Law which has studied vaccine mandates for nearly a decade.
“The tests are painful enough that most of them just prefer to get the vaccine,” she said.
Half of U.S. workers support workplace vaccine requirements, says Associated Press-NORC survey Public Affairs Research Center. Such warrants have already gained ground following full approval by the Food and Drug Administration of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine. Vaccines from Moderna and Johnson & Johnson are available under emergency clearance, but have not been officially approved.
Cole Stevenson, an assembly line worker at the Ford pickup truck plant in Dearborn, Mich., Said the requirement was “huge overbreadth” from the government. He has not been vaccinated and is concerned that the vaccines were distributed before they were properly tested.
“They just haven’t done as much as they should have put in people now,” Stevenson said. “I don’t trust it.”
COVID-19 vaccines licensed in the United States have in fact been shown to be safe and remarkably effective against the worst disease outcomes in studies involving tens of thousands of people and by tracking their performance in the real world.
More than 177 million Americans are fully vaccinated against the coronavirus, but confirmed cases of the virus have increased in recent weeks. They have now reached an average of around 140,000 cases per day.
On average, about 1,000 Americans die from the virus each day, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. More than 650,000 Americans have died from the virus since January 2020, according to Johns Hopkins University.
Britton Durbin, a utility worker in Dunnellon, Fla. Who is vaccinated, said warrants are needed to make sure workers are safe and the power company he works for can operate without being interrupted by sick people. His company has yet to impose vaccines, but has encouraged them. In the past two months, three colleagues have died from COVID-19.
“When I know my colleagues are vaccinated, it’s reassuring,” said Durbin, 32. “They are less likely to get sick or die.”
(Copyright (c) 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)
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