The Consumer Brands Association (CBA), which represents major companies like Coca-Cola and General Motors, demanded Biden clarify his COVID vaccine mandate on companies with over 100 employees.
The Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration will enforce that rule. If they don’t mandate the vaccines then they have to conduct weekly COVID tests.
The mandate will affect 80 million Americans.
The administration will fine a company $14,000 for each violation.
“Federal agencies must move quickly, anticipate challenges, promptly answer questions and partner with the private sector if we are to realize successful implementation of the administration’s COVID-19 Action Plan and achieve our shared goal of increased vaccination rates,” state CBA President and CEO Geoff Freeman.
The CBA said it received a “flood of feedback” from its member companies with questions for the government about the mandate and implementation, “including over 50 unique questions needing clarification.”
Freeman outlined these questions in a letter to Biden and the White House. He reminded the administration that the industry has “2.1 million essential workers” who “have tirelessly throughout the pandemic.”
“On behalf of the consumer packaged goods (CPG) industry, we write to request that federal agencies move quickly, anticipate challenges, promptly answer questions and partner with the private sector if we are to realize successful implementation of the administration’s COVID-19 Action Plan and achieve our shared goal of increased vaccination rates,” wrote CBA President and CEO Geoff Freeman. “Accordingly, we respectfully request that you work closely with our organization and the broader business community to create immediate clarity on how the plan can and should be implemented.”
It never ceases to amaze me that administrations will vomit talking points and think people and companies will just swallow it down without questions.
Here are the questions regarding vaccinations:
Vaccinations
- What is considered documentation for proof of vaccination and how will booster vaccinations be factored into compliance?
- Must an employee be “fully vaccinated” in order to work?
- How will the requirements address natural immunity? Will individuals that have contracted COVID-19 be required to be vaccinated or submit to testing requirements?
- Will the requirements only apply to vaccines that are fully approved by the Food and Drug Administration?
- Does the government have plans to centralize vaccination tracking or is it the responsibility of businesses to manage?
- What are the consequences of falsifying one’s vaccination status and does responsibility rest with the individual or employer?
Then there’s testing:
Testing
- Is there a single testing standard that must be met that would be considered compliant to the negative test result requirement?
- What are the consequences of falsifying test results and does responsibility rest with the individual or employer?
- What is considered suitable documentation of a negative test result?
- For how long will documentation of test results need to be held?
- If an employee takes a COVID-19 test but the results are not yet available, is the employee allowed to continue to work pending the results?
- Will business testing programs that test all employees on site throughout the day meet the requirements for unvaccinated workers need to test “before coming to work”?
- Should employees choose not to vaccinate, is the company or employee responsible for securing and paying for testing? Will paid time off be required for weekly testing requirements?
The CBA has these questions about implementation:
Operational
- When will the requirements be formally issued and what is the timeline for compliance?
- How does this mandate impact locations with collective bargaining and existing collective bargaining agreements?
- Will this federal requirement preempt existing state-imposed obligations?
- Will the federal requirements supersede state expense reimbursement statutes?
- Do the new federal requirements include exemptions based on sincerely held religious beliefs and disabilities?
- Will waivers be allowed if essential employee absences or attrition cause significant disruption to the CPG supply chain?
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