Employers prepare for Biden Administration’s forthcoming COVID-19 rule

(WSAW) - Large employers around the country and in north-central Wisconsin are preparing for a COVID-19 rule coming from the Biden Administration.

The administration is working to create a rule through the Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration that would require employers with 100 or more employees to ensure their employees are either vaccinated or tested weekly for COVID-19.

Georgetown University’s public health and legal expert, Lawrence Gostin said the administration is within its right to create the rule.

“Vaccines are our ticket out of this pandemic, we need to use those tools, Biden wins right to do it and it’s entirely lawful,” he said.

The full details of that rule are not finished yet and the White House press secretary, Jen Psaki said OSHA will provide businesses guidance in the coming weeks.

In the meantime, NewsChannel 7 has reached out to several large employers in north-central Wisconsin, many of whom said they were not ready to make official comments at this time, but noted they are having those discussions to prepare.

The president of Crystal Finishings had some practical and philosophical concerns about implementing those rules but was not ready to comment at this time.

Marshfield Clinic Health Systems also declined a request to interview about this topic. It already has a vaccine requirement in place and commented that the federal requirement is consistent with its current requirement to have all employees vaccinated by Nov. 15.

“Our decision was in line with our mission and core values, and it’s important we take every step necessary to protect the health and well-being of our employees, patients and the entire communities we serve,” Jeff Starck, a communications specialist with Marshfield Clinic stated.