For Employers, the Devil Will Be in the Details of Biden’s New Vaccine Mandate, an Employment Law Expert Explains

September 13, 2021

Following the Biden administration’s announcement that employers with more than 100 employees will be required to mandate vaccines or weekly testing — a move that will impact more than 80 million workers— an employment law expert told Insider that the devil is in the details.

On Thursday, President Biden announced a six-point plan to try to beat back a rise in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations and to increase the country’s vaccination rate. This includes enforcing fines of up to $14,000 per violation for employers that ignore the mandates.

Biden announced COVID-19 vaccine requirements for federal employees, contractors of federal agencies, and staff at all healthcare facilities that receive federal funding from Medicare or Medicaid. Unlike employees at private companies, these workers would not have the option to get routinely tested as an alternative to being vaccinated.

“We could see a fair amount of challenges regarding the details — who is going to provide testing, who is going to pay for it, are employers going to be required to pay people for the time they spend testing?” Domenique Moran, an employment lawyer with Farrell Fritz, told Insider.

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