Emergency vaccine rule for large employers to be issued 'in the coming days'
Private U.S. businesses with 100 or more employees will soon need to vaccinate workers or test them weekly, according to a soon-to-be published federal rule.
CNN reports that President Joe Biden announced his decision regarding the new mandate back in September and as of Monday (November 1), the Office of Management and Budget finished up its required review of the emergency rule.
A Labor Department spokesperson said, "On November 1, the Office of Management and Budget completed its regulatory review of the emergency temporary standard. The Federal Register will publish the emergency temporary standard in the coming days."
The representative continued, "The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has been working expeditiously to develop an emergency temporary standard that covers employers with 100 or more employees, firm- or company-wide, and provides options for compliance."
According to the new emergency rule, covered employers are required to create, establish, and enforce a mandatory COVID-19 vaccination policy. If not, they must adopt a policy requiring employees to choose to either undergo the vaccination process or submit to regular COVID-19 testing in addition to wearing a face covering at work.
Federal authorities will also require employers to allow workers to get vaccinated during paid time off and give them paid sick leave should they need time to recover from any side effects.
The new requirements might apply to approximately 100 million Americans, or two-thirds of the American workforce.
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CNN notes that as of Monday, more than 191 million people, or 58% of the total US population, are already fully vaccinated.